A Fairy Tale for Two
by G123u
Summary: A collection of romantic oneshots with a touch of fantasy, featuring all eight main characters, and possibly Epic Heroes NPCs later on. Contains same-gender and different-gender pairings. Rated T just to be safe. Cover image by Moming.
1. Demon Child and Village Girl (ISxDW)

**~ The Demon Child and the Village Girl ~**

* * *

_Aisha – Dimension Witch_

_Elsword – Infinity Sword_

* * *

It was late spring, and the flowers had finally begun to bloom. In the soft golden light of the warm, morning sun, it looked as if small fairies were dancing around the colorful blossoms. The trees nearby rustled their leaves softly, as if the forest was an enchanted orchestra. A passerby, wearing a purple hooded cape, stopped to take in the view, rubbing her eyes occasionally to erase the illusion of glowing nymphs flittering about on the beautiful fields.

"What lovely flowers…" The young girl whispered to herself. "I wonder if Grandfather will like them?"

The girl placed down her wicker basket on the gravel road and quickly ran to the nearest patch of flowers – a small gathering of yellow daffodils.

"In the ancient language of the flowers, daffodils represent 'respect'…" The girl let out a light laugh. "These will be perfect for Grandfather!"

Kneeling down, the girl began to gently pluck the flowers, being careful not to damage their stems or any other plants nearby. As she plucked the fifth flower, the girl stood up and murmured an incantation, being careful not to be too loud. As soon as the words left her mouth, the cluster of daffodil stems in her hands began to wrap themselves around each other, forming a very simple but lovely bouquet. She smiled, pleased with herself.

"Hey there, Aisha." The girl quickly turned around to face the voice, huffing slightly at the familiar hooded figure before her.

"What are you doing here Elsword?"

The taller boy laughed, though he did not walk closer to the girl. He pulled his beige hood back slightly, revealing spiky red hair, with a taint of black, and sharp crimson eyes.

"What about you? Are you visiting your grandpa again?"

"Yeah, Grandfather's gotten very ill recently…" The boy frowned.

"He's sick? That's not good, hope he gets better…" The redheaded boy trailed off, unsure of what to say next. He looked away, scratching the back of his head with his arm.

With nothing else to say, Aisha walked back onto the road, placing the flower bundle into the straw basket. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a large, fresh gash across the boy's left forearm. She let out a gasp, eyes wide.

"Elsword! You're hurt!" The hooded girl exclaimed, running over to the surprised boy.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" Aisha grabbed his arm, continuing to examine the large wound, despite his complaints.

"Stay still! We need to get you treated before it gets infected." Struggling to maintain her grip, the girl quickly cast a restriction spell, binding the boy's body and limiting his movements.

Seeing that the girl had no intention of changing her mind, Elsword let out an irritated sigh and relaxed his body. He watched as the girl continued to chant multiple healing spells, sealing off the wound and fixing the skin around it. With the wound healed, the girl called off the bind on the boy's body. He quickly pulled his arm back, muttering a simple "Thanks" as he turned away. The girl smiled.

"You're welcome." Her smile faded. "Did… Did the villagers try to kill you again?"

The boy averted his gaze, though he could still see the girl's amethyst eyes clouded with worry.

"It's no big deal…" He replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

The girl did not respond, even though it _was_ quite a big deal. She didn't know much about the redheaded boy – only that he was once under the care of Mayor Hoffman, though his presence was kept a secret. Ever since the villagers discovered his unusual red eyes, they labeled him as a demon child and kicked him out of the village. As for the mayor, he was… …punished heavily for "siding with the demons". _'Even though neither of them have ever done anything wrong…'_

Aisha pulled her hood back, letting her long curly pigtails fall on her shoulder. She reached up and patted the boy's head, much to his surprise. Gently, she brushed a few loose strands of hair away from the boy's face, pinning it to the side with her hand. With her free left hand, she pulled the purple barrette out of her hair and clipped it to the boy's head. She pulled back, placing her hands on her hips and smiling victoriously.

"There we go! I'm letting you borrow my favorite hairclip, so don't you dare lose it!"

The boy gave an amused snort, replying with a cynical tone.

"Thank you, oh mighty Aisha."

The girl laughed, pulling her hood back up as her face turned serious.

"Until I see you again, please don't get caught…" She whispered softly.

The boy smiled, gently reassuring the purple-haired magician. "Don't worry, I won't die."

He too, pulled up his hood, tucking his crimson hair into the cloak. With a swift motion, he grabbed the small girl and pulled her in a tight embrace.

"Thank you for believing in me…" He mumbled.

With one last gentle squeeze, the boy pulled away, chuckling lightly at the girl's flustered face.

"You'd better hurry, before it gets dark."

With a vibrant smile left on his face, the boy began to run deep into the forests, waving his injured arm cheerfully as he bid farewell to the twintailed maiden.

"Bye-bye Aisha! Don't get caught now!"

* * *

The sun had begun to set, leaving a small purple-haired girl slightly worried as she traveled through the large forests. There had been rumors of bandits appearing at night, kidnapping any poor maidens they found and… She shivered, unable to continue the train of thought.

Collecting herself, Aisha began to hasten her pace, hoping to arrive back in her home village before they closed the gates. Eventually, the girl slowed down, feeling quite exasperated after running for so long. She did not want to use any teleportation magic, for fear of being discovered as a mage when she landed, but the only other alternative…

Aisha glanced around and, seeing no one in sight, raised a finger to her lips as she mumbled out a time-space distorting spell. Spreading her arms out before her, a small gust of wind blew by, leaving behind a set of small, cloud-like wings on the girl's white boots. Knowing that the spell would last a minute at max, Aisha began to dash quickly towards the village, running at a god-like speed.

As the tall, wooden barriers entered her view, the mage quickly stopped and dispelled the buff cast upon her. She dusted her clothes and pulled back her hood, letting her loose curls fall gently. She glanced up at the sky, noticing that the last rays of sunlight were just about to disappear. Collecting herself, Aisha began to lightly jog to the village entrance, only to be stopped by a trio of unfamiliar people.

The tallest had rough chestnut hair and a scar over his right eye. As if his large build and menacing glare were not intimidating enough, he also wielded a very large broadsword upon his shoulder. His companions were hidden behind white fox masks, though their voices easily gave away their gender.

"Hey boss! Looks like that girl's a magician. What d'ya wanna do with her?" One of the masked males, wearing a putrid green jumpsuit, asked laughing.

The presumed leader let out a loud bark as he took a step closer to the scared girl. He turned his head to face her – a wide smirk growing on his scarred, tan face.

"I don't know much about magics, but I can bet she'll fetch us a pretty little penny on the markets. Tie her up will ya? But don't hurt her too much; I'll want to play with her later." He laughed loudly as his underlings pulled out their various knives and blades.

Aisha took a step back, gritting her teeth tightly to prevent them from chattering. Not only did they discover her secret, but also planned on selling her off? She shuddered at the thought.

The twintailed maiden took a death breath in an attempt to calm her rapid heartbeat. She had once studied in close combat and offensive magic, but never practiced after Wally became mayor of Elder – passing a law that forced all magicians to be reduced to mere slaves. She would not have enough time to stand around and chant an incantation or gather enough mana to attack with.

As risky as it was, the best plan of action would be to teleport straight back home and pray that no one would catch her in the act. However, the main problem of the bandits still remained. Such a long-ranged teleportation spell would take some time to cast, even for a mage who specialized in time and special distortions. She clenched her hands tightly, and began to whisper the words to the spell as quickly and quietly as she could.

"Hey girly, don't be scared. We won't hurt you… …Too much." One of the bandits cooed.

Aisha did not pay attention, tuning her mind out as she continued to chant the spell. Seeing the bandits close in on her, she began to slowly step backwards, sweat beginning to form on her forehead.

"Oof!"

Aisha bumped against a wall, cursing under her breath as her spell was interrupted. _'But wait... There shouldn't be any walls out here, in the middle of nowhere…'_

Without any warning, a pair of large hands grabbed her fragile waist, lifting her high up into the air. The twintailed magician let out a yelp, and began to struggle against the grip.

"I caught her boss!"

The girl glanced down at her attacker, noticing him wearing the same fox mask as the other two bandits. Her mind began to race as she continued to struggle against the strong grip. What could she do? What could she do? Her eyes darted around, trying to find something that may assist her escape. She found a speck of red.

Before her mind could even register what had happened, the red speck flew from the forests and towards the bandits. Screams of fear and agony were heard as the small group fell one by one. Feeling her attacker's grip loosen, Aisha clenched her eyes shut, preparing for a nasty fall. She felt her body fall, but felt no impact. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes, widening them in shock at the sight of her savior.

"E-Elsword?!"

The crimson-haired boy smiled, his crimson eyes shining in the dark of the night.

"I'm glad you're safe. That was really bad luck though, having to meet these nasty guys out here." He glanced around, his eyes cold and sharp.

Following his gaze, Aisha noticed the still corpses of the attacking bandits. Before she could closely examine their bodies, her head was turned towards her friend's chest.

"Don't look." He whispered, surprising the girl.

She nodded, feeling queasy about the whole incident. It was only then that she had noticed the position she was in. The redheaded boy had wrapped his arms around her legs and waist, lifting her in the famous 'princess' or 'bridal' carry. She felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"P-Put me down. I can walk by myself." She commanded, not daring to make eye contact.

The boy obeyed silently, gently lowering the smaller girl back onto the earthly ground.

"You should hurry back, before the gates close. There might be more out here." The girl nodded.

"Thanks for saving me."

"H-Huh? I mean, it's no big deal. Anyone would have done that…"

The girl let out a light laugh, turning to face the boy. She noticed a certain, purple barrette clipped to the left side of his hair and let out a surprised cry.

"What's the matter?!" The boy asked sharply, worried. The girl beamed.

"You still have it! My hairclip!" She flashed a bright smile at the taller boy, watching with an amused face as he fluttered about, trying to come up with a plausible excuse.

"Th-There's no reason to throw it away…" He quickly turned away, hiding his red-tinted cheeks from the bubbly mage. The girl let out a small chuckle.

"…Thanks."

"Aisha!"

The purple-haired magician turned around at the sudden desperate-sounding call. She saw Luichel – her landlady and aunt – run towards her, a terrified look on her face. And behind her, many other villagers, all carrying torches or various spears. The girl stared at the mob before her, wondering why in the world the villagers would be out and about in the middle of the night – with weapons, no less. And then it struck her. She glanced at the boy behind her, noticing his clenched fists turn white. He bit his lip, drawing blood, but continued to stare at the ground unfazed. The girl reached an arm out to him.

"Els—"

"Aisha, get away from him!"

Aisha flinched at the harsh command, and turned to face her neighbors. Although the sun had already set, the light from the flames easily revealed their putrid expressions. Hatred. Disgust. Fear. Scorn. All directed to an innocent, young boy. She swallowed, forcing saliva down her dry throat.

"Please… Please wait! Elsword's innocent! He's never done anything—Kya!"

Aisha felt a harsh force on her back and quickly moved her arms out, collapsing on the ground and kicking dirt all over her white and magenta outfit. She peered over her shoulder at her silent friend, noticing his crimson eyes hollow and regretful. As if he was apologizing for his non-existent sins.

"Take the girl, I don't want her anymore. And clean up after my men while you're at it." He gestured to the corpses nearby. "Those guys were useless, but don't worry, I'll find better ones to replace them." He smirked haughtily at the small crowd, earning incoherent shouts of various threats and insults.

The girl stared at the redheaded boy before her, shocked at his sudden transformation. But before she could react, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her.

"Oh Aisha! I'm so glad you're still alive…" Hesitant, Aisha gently patted her aunt's back, as if trying to reassure her. The older girl suddenly pulled away.

"Are you all right? Did he do anything to you?" She called out worriedly, her eyes darting for any injuries.

"I'm fine Luichel, but Elsword—"

"Don't worry about him sweetie. We'll take care of him; you'll never see him again."

Wiping her tears on her sleeve, Luichel stood up, a bright flame flickering dangerously in her caramel-colored eyes. She turned to face the proclaimed demon boy.

"We'll give you one last chance – leave this village and never return."

The boy gave an amused snort.

"I'll leave all right – your hosting skills are very terrible. But I like it here, so I'll definitely come back. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week…" Elsword clenched his arms behind his head in a casual, nonchalant manner, ignoring the enraged cries of the villagers. He turned around, hiding his watering eyes from everyone before him. He blinked rapidly, forcing the tears back. Collecting himself, he raised his head to bid farewell to his only friend.

"I'll see you later Aisha. Let's play some more next time okay?"

And without another word, the boy ran deep into the forests, leaving the villagers extremely bewildered.

Aisha stared at the dark forests, unsure of how to react. It was as if the boy had been intentionally trying to get the villagers to hate him. She did not understand. Why?

The girl snapped out of her trance as she felt a pair of hands clasp her shoulders. She raised her head to meet with caramel orbs and bright orange hair. She glanced around, noticing that she was surrounded by her many neighbors. She looked at her aunt.

"Aisha, I'm sorry, but this is for your own safety. We don't know when he'll come back and try to kidnap you again. Please understand sweetheart." Luichel then pulled the younger girl into a tight embrace.

Returning the embrace, Aisha glanced around at the debating villagers. She could not concentrate, but heard bits and parts of every conversation.

"…lock her up…"

"…as bait, lure out the demon boy…"

"…lly's knights and protect her…"

She didn't know what the villagers were planning, but was too focused on their prejudice nature. Why couldn't they just give Elsword a chance and see that he wasn't a demon child? She lowered her gaze. All she wanted was for them to see him as a regular human boy he was…

* * *

Aisha stretched her arms, raising them out to embrace the clear blue sky. It had been months since she was last able to leave the village, courtesy of a certain redheaded troublemaker. ...A certain redheaded troublemaking friend… She hung her head, letting her violet pigtails fall off her shoulders. It had been months since she last saw her crimson-eyed friend. Ever since his little speech, more bandits had appeared around the village, leading the villagers to think that Elsword had sent them. She doubted it, but not even her loving aunt would believe her claims of the boy's innocence.

She let out a sigh and prayed that the boy was all right. Tearing her gaze away from the sky, Aisha walked over to a nearby tree and sat down, leaning her back on its broad, smooth bark. Despite nearing fall, the forests stayed lush green, as if the plants were trapped in time, though most of the flowers had already withered.

Seeing no one in sight, the twintailed magician pulled out a thick novel from one of her many dimensional pouches. She brushed her gloved hand over the leather-bound cover, cleaning it of its non-existent dust, not even bothering to glance at the title. She opened the book, flipping by many pages until her eyes settled in on the crisp black text. _'Chapter One: The Girl Lost in Time…'_

The girl began to read, though her mind did not absorb the words. Her hands unconsciously flipped the pages, though she did not understand anything that occurred in the novel. Eventually, her mind began to doze off, though her hands continued to turn the page.

A soft rustle above her head awoke the girl from her trance. She raised her hand to touch her head, feeling silky petals and soft leaves adorned in a ring-like pattern. Her mind awoke with a start. _'Flowers? But they should have all wilted…'_

"Like it?"

The girl raised her head, meeting with a smiling, hooded figure. The stranger pulled his hood back, revealing spiky red hair and similarly shaded sharp, crimson eyes.

"E-Elsword?!" The girl gasped, her eyes wide with a mixture of emotions. The boy laughed in response.

"The one and only."

He sat down beside the girl, pulling his left leg in to use as an armrest. He let out a quiet sigh, raising his head to gaze up at the clouds above.

Aisha stared at the boy beside her, an overload of questions flooding her mind, though no words came to her tongue. Her eyes darted to a familiar barrette clipped in his messy red hair.

"You still have it? My hairclip?"

The boy turned to face the twintailed magician, replying with a sincere smile.

"Well, I don't have a reason to throw it away… …Just yet."

"Yet?! What's that supposed to mean?!" The girl pouted, earning a cheerful laugh from her redheaded friend. The boy's lighthearted laugh was contagious, and the girl soon found herself laughing alongside the redheaded boy. Her smile quickly faded as a thought ran through her mind.

"Hey Elsword, is it okay for you to be out here? I mean, the villagers still think you're…"

She was met with silence. The boy did not respond. Instead, he smiled and reached out his arm to ruffle the girl's hair, much to her annoyance.

"It's all right, I'll make sure they don't find me. In return, you have to try and come out here as often as you can okay? I've got lots I want to talk to you about. And now that the bandits are finally gone…"

Pieces of a puzzle formed together as Aisha connected his words with his speech months ago. The sudden increase of attacking bandits near the village. His arrogant speech that made the villagers fear for the young girl's safety… The girl broke into a wide smile and inched closer to her red-eyed friend.

"Okay! I promise, so you've got to keep your promise too."

The boy laughed.

"I promise. So you see, I went to Bethma the other day…"

The girl quickly chanted a spell, opening a dimensional pouch and tossing her book in it. The boy continued to speak, completely unfazed by her spells.

Aisha smiled. She was glad that the boy was able to trust her, despite being a mage. And she was even gladder that she was able to trust the boy, despite all the cruel myths surrounding him. Adjusting her flower crown, she turned to face her loyal friend, listening intently as he continued to tell his tale of fairy tale-like lizardmen, walking cacti, and dragons made of bones.

Eventually, the setting sun alerted the duo of their ever-nearing parting. Elsword stood up and stretched his arms, stifling back a yawn. He turned to the smaller girl and offered a hand. Aisha grabbed the outstretched hand and pulled herself up, dusting her dress with her free hand.

"Hey Elsword, can we meet again tomorrow? Right here?" She asked, slightly worried about the boy's response.

"Of course. And the day after tomorrow, and the day after that." He smiled reassuringly, gently squeezing the girl's delicate hand.

Reluctantly, he let go of her hand, and started to walk towards the center of the forest, away from the light gravel path.

"Maybe someday we can go on an adventure together, just the two of us…" He mumbled.

"I'd like that." Aisha replied, smiling cheerfully.

The boy hastily turned around, his eyes wide with surprise. He did not expect the girl to hear, much less reply. His face softened into a sincere smile.

"Just the two of us." He repeated, pulling his hood back up.

Without another word, the twintailed magician and the red-eyed boy started to walk their separate paths. But they were not worried, for they knew that they could trust their precious friend. The setting sun marked their departure, but the rising sun would bring them together again.

* * *

"Elsword, wait up!" The twintailed magician called out, gasping heavily for breath. But her red-eyed companion did not even slow down. He turned around and grabbed the girl's right hand, pulling her along at a superhuman speed.

"Come on! We're almost there!"

Ignoring the girl's constant complaints, Elsword led the girl down multiple spirals of stairs, being careful not to trip either of the two. Eventually, they reached a large wooden door. Kicking the door open, Elsword ran into the ginormous room, his purple-haired companion in tow.

"We're here!" He laughed, throwing his arms up in the air.

Panting heavily, Aisha straightened her body and gazed at the scene before her. It was a beautiful forest, unlike any that she had ever seen. Tall trees of all shades of green lined the room, long drooping vines hung like party banners from every tree and bush, and in the center of the spacious room, an endless field of flowers – their colors bursting brightly in the artificially lighted room. The girl felt a smile creep onto her face.

"It's so beautiful…" She murmured, unable to tear her gaze away from the floral haven. The boy laughed.

"Really? I can name someone here even more beautiful." He turned to face the twintailed magician, a haughty smirk forming on his lips as he watched her face turn beet red.

"I mean me, of course." He continued, smiling proudly.

"What the heck?! You're not supposed to compliment yourself in front of another person! That's just rude!" The girl huffed, pulling her hand away.

The redheaded boy laughed, pulling the girl's hand back and reconnecting their fingers.

"I'm kidding. The most beautiful one here…" He leaned down and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "…Is definitely Miss Aisha."

The purple-haired magician quickly turned her face away, covering her red face with her free arm.

"S-Stupid Elsword, you're not supposed to say it like that…"

"I mean it though. Thank you for always believing in me."

Feeling her face cool down, Aisha turned to flash a bright smile at her redheaded friend. It had been merely a few days since she ran away from Elder, and even though she had experienced many difficulties and horrors on their journey, she did not regret her choice. Her aunt and fellow neighbors must be really worried, but the twintailed magician refused to return until they accepted her friend – not as a demon child, but as a regular human boy. She was being stubborn, and possibly making really stupid choices, but that did not matter to the girl. Feeling a light squeeze on her right hand, Aisha turned to face her redheaded companion.

"Are you sure you're not homesick or anything?" He asked, hesitant. The girl quickly shook her head in response.

"I'm sure. I… I want to travel the world with you, Els." She smiled, noticing the corners of the boy's lips rise slightly.

"Yeah, I do too…" He whispered.

"What was that?"

The boy shook his head.

"Nothing. You ready to continue?"

With a nod of approval from his purple-haired companion, Elsword led the two back up the spiral staircase, moving at a much slower pace than before. As for their destination… …Well, who knows? As long as they don't get caught. He chuckled lightly at the thought.

"What is it?" The boy shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing. Come on, let's hurry." _'After all, we've got a whole entire world waiting to be explored…'_

* * *

**~ Author's Notes ~**

I'm sorry, I kind of gave up at the ending. Too braindead. XP

Since many people were expecting/wanting romance in Journey of Thousand Fathoms, I decided I might as well write some romantic oneshots to make up for the discontinued series. Plus, it'll help me improve on my romance-writing skills, and just might give me some inspiration to continue JTF.

Each oneshot will focus on two classes from the main 8 characters (Ara and Elesis included), with the other characters, or NPCs, possibly appearing as side characters or making cameo appearances. Later on, I might include the EHNPCs, but for now, it's just the Elgang.

Every oneshot will take place in a different AU, with some sort of relation to fantasy, hence the title. Some may be longer and/or more detailed than others, but every oneshot will end in a happy(-ish) ending, unless requested so. Yes, that means I'll be taking requests if anyone's interested. Feel free to send me a PM/comment/review/etc. regarding the classes you would like to see, and an idea/scenario/etc. if you have one. I'm fine with writing romance for same-gender pairings, and different-gender pairings, as you just saw. However, I will not be writing any "M" rated stories, just to keep the rating range on the oneshots smaller.

Please take note, however, that I will not write any ChungxRena/Aisha and ElswordxRena. I'm sorry, I really dislike those two pairings. I'm just unable to accept them, even after reading multiple stories featuring those pairings. They just seem so... Off.

With all that said, thanks for reading this far, and I hope you enjoyed this oneshot. As always, feedback of any sorts is always welcome.

If there are no requests, the next oneshot will be IPxDC with a vampire theme~.


	2. Rainy Day Romance (RSxEM)

**~ Rainy Day Romance ~**

* * *

_Aisha – Elemental Master_

_Elsword – Rune Slayer_

* * *

It was over.

She had failed.

No matter what she did, none of her spells worked.

She forced out a weak laugh. She could remember the judges' confused expressions.

Ironic, isn't it? The number one magician in Velder, was unable to properly cast a spell during the magician's final exam.

She had immediately run out of the exam room out of panic, and she was far too humiliated to return.

It was over.

Her eyes began to water. She raised her arm, quickly wiping away the tears with her long white sleeve with a jagged opening.

She glanced down at her outfit – the usual white dress shirt and navy blue skirt uniform of Velder Academy, combined with a long white coat, lined with magenta silk. On each side rested a large lilac-colored pocket, embedded with the universal symbol for elemental magic. On her chest, to tie up the jacket, was a large rosy-pink ribbon, with a small golden seal in the middle, depicting the crest of Velder's Official Elemental Masters. The official jacket representing Velder's most talented magicians.

She received the jacket early on in her school year, for showing extreme potential in nature-indulging magics. It was an honorable gift, given only to the greatest students with such potential.

They hadn't expected her to fail. She was sure of it. They were expecting her to enter the exam room and pass with flying colors. Just like every other test she had. Her perfect 100% streak was over. Her future as an Elemental Master was over.

Tears began to form on the corners of her eyes again. But the little magician did not wipe them away. She wanted to cry this time. But she was deep in the city, and she was far too ashamed to return to her dorms.

Hiding her face from the passerby strangers, Aisha wove her way through the crowd and into a large forest park. She strode off the gravel sidewalk and deep into the forest, not even caring about the branches that tore at her hair or scratched her legs. She soon arrived at a small clearing, barely wide enough for her to stretch her arms out to the side.

She leaned against a tree and let out a long sigh, but alas, her tears would not fall. She was extremely upset, frustrated with herself and her failure. Her chest felt tightened, as if it was going to explode if she did not release her grief, but her eyes remained dry. She let out a weak laugh.

"Am I such a failure, that I'm unable to even cry?" She called out to no one in particular.

Of course, there was no reply.

She hung her head and let out another sigh. Raising her head, she untied her pigtails and combed her hair, picking out the various leaves and dust that had gathered while she ran. Tying her violet hair back into their usual twintails, she felt a drop on her head, followed by a second shortly after.

She raised her head. Rain.

The rain quickly intensified, turning into a small storm, trapping the girl in the forest. She would be able to escape, dry, if her teleportation spell worked.

Aisha let out a small laugh.

"How ironic, even the elements are laughing at me…"

"That's not true."

Aisha flinched at the unexpected reply. She raised her head, meeting with friendly crimson eyes.

She gazed at the owner of the red orbs. A young male, most likely only a little bit older than her, judging by his appearance. His bright scarlet hair was spiked, and tied into two thin pigtails resting over his shoulders. A quick flick of his head revealed a third strand, most likely a ponytail tied at the back of his head.

Despite the cold weather, the young boy was wearing a short, black, sleeveless jacket that showed his naval. His black pants were adorned with several ornaments – a large red belt around his waist, connected to two similar-looking streamers of sorts, a very large golden charm attached to the belt, and metal plates on his thighs that attached to long, baggy, white legwarmers of sorts.

He waved his hand, covered in fingerless black gloves with multiple black bracers.

"Yo."

The little magician stared, surprised to have met someone out in the middle of the forest. Snapping out of her trance, she quickly replied, her voice a little shaky.

"Hello…"

The boy smiled cheerfully.

"Whacha doing all the way out here?"

"Nothing really, just… …Thinking…" She glanced at the boy.

"Don't you feel cold, wearing such little clothing?"

The boy laughed, replying with an energetic tone.

"Nope! I like the rain, and the rain likes me." He placed his hands on his hips, leaning slightly, giving off an air of confidence.

It was only then, that Aisha noticed the boy was completely dry, despite no cover over his head. His hair stayed spiky and moved with ease, and there was not even a single drop of rain on his skin or clothes. But the ground below him was drenched with rainwater. A magician perhaps? And a powerful one no less, considering he was able to maneuver so many raindrops at once around his body, but lead them to their original intended location. She felt a small tinge of envy stir in the pits of her stomach. Mass maneuvering was a skill not even she had fully mastered yet.

"What about you, don't you feel cold?" The boy asked, curiously. "You're a magician right? How come you don't have a shield up or something?"

"My spells aren't working…" The girl replied solemnly.

"Really? Mind showing me?"

Aisha sighed and raised her left hand, facing her palm towards the sky. She closed her eyes and began to gather mana in her body, an image of a small flame flickering in her open palm forming in her mind. As she finished her mental incantation, she slowly opened her eyes, praying that her magic had returned. Her hand remained empty. She let her left arm fall and exhaled angrily.

"See? I can't even create a simple fire!" She furrowed her brows and bit her lower lip, frustrated with her incapability to do such a simple task.

"Hmm…" The boy placed his right hand on his chin, as if he were in deep thought. His face suddenly broke into a wide smile.

"I've got it! The problem is this!" He curled his right hand into a fist and jutted his thumb at his chest, where his heart laid.

The girl raised an eyebrow, giving the boy a strange look. He laughed.

"The problem is that you're underestimating yourself. It's the first time you've ever failed. So what? You'll do a thousand times better next time, so pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and carry on!" The boy cheered, puffing his chest out proudly.

The girl stared at the redheaded boy, dumbfounded.

"What does that have to do with my…" She trailed off, eyes wide as she realized, she never told the boy about her final exam, much less about failing it. "Wait a second! How do you know it was my first failure?"

The boy laughed and gave an all-knowing look.

"Don't worry about that. For now, concentrate on calling forth some fire."

He grabbed the girl's left hand with both of his hands and spread open her fingers, surprising the little magician.

"Close your eyes." He commanded. "And imagine that a gigantic fire is going to burst aflame in your hand."

Hesitating slightly, Aisha closed her eyes and began mentally chanting the same incantation as before. She visualized a small flame burning vigorously in her open palm.

"Not enough, think bigger! You want an even bigger flame, one that's as big and bright as the sun!"

Aisha clenched her eyes, furrowing her brows. She pictured the small flame growing larger and larger, doubling to twice the size of her delicate hand.

"More, more! Pour all your effort into it and make the flame explode!"

Aisha gritted her teeth, visualizing the flame increase drastically in size. With the redheaded boy's constant cheering, she soon relaxed, and her small flame began to flicker, changing shape to a beautiful bird of fire.

With a gasp, Aisha quickly opened her eyes, just in time to see a small flame shoot up from her open palm, dancing into the sky in the form of a phoenix. She stared, mouth hung open in shock. _'Did… Did I do that?!'_

As if he had read her mind, the boy laughed, letting go of the girl's delicate hand.

"See? I knew you could do it!"

For the first time that rainy afternoon, the little magician smiled. She began to laugh. How strange. The boy's reasoning made absolutely no logical sense to her, but she felt extremely happy, and relieved that her powers had returned. She turned to face the boy.

"Thank you. I… I'll believe in myself more, and I'll retake the exam."

The boy responded with a bright smile of his own.

"No problem! Go and show them how amazing you are. Knock their socks off!"

"What the heck… Who says that nowadays?" The girl chided, laughing childishly alongside her new redheaded friend.

Wiping her tears on her white sleeve, Aisha turned to gaze at the sky, noticing that the rain had lightened, and many of the dark clouds had faded away. She glanced at the boy – whom had also turned to look up at the sky – and noticed a displeased frown on his lips. The boy let out a short huff.

"Looks like I've got to go now…"

He began to walk away, raising an arm and looking over his shoulder as he bid farewell to his new friend.

"Bye bye Aisha! Good luck on your exam!"

"W-Wait!" The girl stuttered, feeling slightly embarrassed. "What… What's your name?"

"Elsword." The boy replied, smiling. "Don't be sad, I'll come here again tomorrow."

Aisha felt her face flush.

"I was just asking for your name…" She mumbled, earning a light laugh from the boy.

She watched as the boy wove through the cluster of trees, carrying the rain with him. What a strange boy he was.

"Ah…"

She raised a hand to her chin.

"Did I tell him my name…?"

* * *

Panting slightly, Aisha ran deep into the forest, stopping only when she arrived at a small clearing. She remembered to put up a mana shield this time, and had an umbrella in her coat just in case. She leaned against a tree, waiting for her friend to arrive. As if on cue, she spotted a messy speck of red and black out of the corner of her eye.

"Elsword!"

Aisha ran towards her redheaded friend and jumped on him, embracing him tightly.

"I did it! I passed the exam!"

The boy laughed, returning the embrace.

"Congratulations! See? I knew you could do it."

Aisha let out a light chuckle, before realizing her position. She quickly tore herself away, feeling heat creep up to her cheeks.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—I mean…" She continued to blabber on, attempting to save herself from her little mishap.

The boy watched in amusement, eventually deciding to give the little magician some peace of mind.

"So how was the exam?"

"Eh? Oh! Um, it went well, I think. All my spells came out perfectly." She grinned sheepishly. "I guess I should believe in myself more…"

Elsword nodded his head.

"Yup, yup! And then someday you'll be able to do something like this!" He waved his arms in an outward arc-like motion, gathering the raindrops in front of him and molding them into water-made roses of varying sizes. With a snap of his hand, the petals began to fall from the roses, one by one, drifting slowly before returning to their original form.

Aisha stared in awe. In the warm afternoon glow, the water droplets seemed to sparkle all over the green forest. _'How beautiful…' _She thought to herself. Noticing her piqued interest, the boy let out a light chuckle.

"Amazing isn't it? I learned that trick from one of my friends – though she used sparkles instead of water." He placed his hands on his hips, releasing a hearty laugh from his mouth.

"Heh~…" The girl started to mumble to herself, gathering all her knowledge to attempt to replicate the boy's little show.

Raising her head confidently, Aisha swung her arms out in a large arc-like motion, much like what the boy did. But the water instead gathered in a large sphere in front of her. Aisha stretched out her left hand, spreading her fingers apart and facing her palm towards the orb of water. Murmuring a short incantation, she fired a quick burst of fire directly into the water, dispersing it around the magician duo. With a quick snap from her fingers, the water droplets froze in midair, and with a second snap, they changed into small orbs and began to slowly drift down to the earth. With the additional light from the compressed flame, the water droplets constantly changed colors as they fell, forming glass-like orbs filled with endless rainbows.

Elsword let out a low whistle, impressed by the girl's superior imitation.

"Wow~. Maybe you could teach me sometime?" He teased, earning a light laugh from the purple-haired magician.

"Of course! Big Sister Aisha is the number one magician in Velder, after all!"

"Huh? Big sister? How old are you again?"

"My seventeenth birthday was just a few months ago." The girl replied proudly.

"Seventeen? Wow, you're so short…"

"W-What was that?!" The girl huffed, feeling her face heat up. "Now you just listen here mister! Just because I'm small right now doesn't mean I won't grow any taller!"

The boy narrowed his eyes and smirked, replying with a playful tone.

"Heh~. But you're already almost twenty. Don't most people stop growing much by then?"

"T-That still gives me three years to grow!" The girl retorted, feeling her face flush even brighter.

"What about you? How old are you, mister you're-so-short-for-an-seventeen-year-old?" The girl asked with a sarcastic tone, earning a laugh in reply.

The boy raised a finger to his lips and closed his right eye.

"That's a secret."

The girl stared, deadpan, before throwing her arms up and bursting into a small, laughing fit.

"What kind of answer is that?!"

"It's still an answer!" The boy replied, laughing alongside the shorter girl.

Collecting herself, Aisha proposed another question to her redheaded friend.

"Then, where are you from? I've never seen you around before. Or is that a secret too?"

As expected, the boy gave a short, cheerful laugh.

"Bingo! I'm not around here, but my birthplace is a secret. You could say I'm a traveler of sorts."

"A traveler? That's so cool!" The girl's eyes began to sparkle as her curiosity intensified. "Where have you been to?"

"Hmm, well, I just came from Hamel…"

"Hamel? You mean, THE Hamel? City of Water, capital of Senace, all the way in Fluone?!"

Elsword flinched at the girl's unexpected enthusiasm.

"Y-Yeah…"

"That… That's so cool!"

Aisha quickly grabbed the boy's hands, clenching them gently as she pestered the boy to continue speaking.

"What was it like? Were the people there nice? Were there any magicians? No, wait, I read that Hamel's armies mainly consist of melee attackers with magical properties, so I guess there wouldn't be many. No, wait. Was that just the Red Knights? Did you get a chance to see the Red Knights? What were they like? I heard their captain, Penensio, is really handsome and talented. Oh! And the prince of the royal family is supposedly really talented too. Do you know what's he like?"

The redheaded boy laughed as he was continuously bombarded by various questions about the famous capital. Releasing his hands, Aisha let out a childish huff.

"What? I'm being serious here – I really want to know what your visit was like!"

"I know, I know." The boy droned teasingly. "Well, let's see… The city was really big, and there were fountains and rivers everywhere and…" He trailed off, stealing a glance at the little magician. Her eyes were wide and seemed to be shining brilliantly, as if she were tightly grasping onto his every word, and painting a beautiful painting of the valiant city with his words alone. He let out a light chuckle.

"Should I continue?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"What? Of course! …Please!" She added, remembering to not forget her manners.

The boy glanced at the sky. The rainfall was still heavy, and did not seem to be letting up anytime soon.

"Hmm… Well, why not. I've got the whole afternoon to tell you."

As the words left his mouth, Aisha found herself grinning like a child on Christmas morning.

"Really?! Yay, thank you!" She jumped on the boy, giving him a tight hug before quickly pulling away, determined to not let the boy waste another second.

"So? There were fountains and rivers everywhere and…? What else?"

The boy laughed, amused by the girl's playfully curious nature.

"Well…"

* * *

The school bell rung, its silvery voice echoing throughout the famous Velder Academy. As soon as its third chime ended, students and teachers alike began to flood the hallways, eager to return to their homes and relax after a long, tiring day.

Collecting all her belongings, Aisha mumbled a simple teleportation spell, smiling victoriously as her schoolbag disappeared from her desk, and arrived back in her dorm room.

"Wow~, how amazing. I wish I had spent more time on Teleportation magic…"

The little magician turned to face the voice – a girl her age and height, with long purple twintails clipped to the back of her head, wearing the majestic gold, silver, and blue armor of the Velder Imperial Guards, a heavy blue schoolbag in her hands. Aisha smiled and greeted her fellow Elemental Master.

"Hi Noah! My Teleportation skills might outclass yours, but you don't know how envious I am of your ice magic."

"Really? Oh gosh, I'm flattered. Though, because of my mastery in ice, my affinity with fire is really low…" The armored magician replied, laughing sheepishly.

Aisha let out a cheerful laugh.

"That's Velder's Ice Princess for you!"

Exhaling a defeated sigh, Noah joined in with her own laughter before quickly changing the topic.

"So! Aisha, are you free today? I'm thinking we could have a little training session – you, me, and Speka."

"Sorry, I'm meeting someone today." Aisha replied, feeling a little regretful. She could've learned a lot from the two magicians if she decided to participate. Ice was a difficult element for Velderian magicians to master, as it was a dual element (of water and wind), and was rarely ever seen in warm areas, such as Velder. Though she reckoned the other magician's specialty void balls – miniature spheres of explosive dark magic – would have been far more difficult to master. However, her daily meetings with her redheaded friend took far more priority in her mind.

"Maybe next time."

"Is that so… Okay then. Next time for sure, don't forget now~!" The Ice Princess flashed a bright, reassuring smile to her magical companion.

Waving goodbye to her fellow magician, Aisha dashed out of the large classroom, mentally citing a self-teleportation spell as she wove through the cluster of fellow students and the occasional staff member. Her spell finished, Aisha snapped her fingers, floating gently – with the aid of wind magic – to the soft, grass-covered ground. She glanced around the small clearing. The tree leaves had begun to change color, ranging from lush greens to earthy reds to sunset yellows. Glancing at the ground, she noticed many flowers had already begun to wilt.

The rainy season would be over soon, and Christmas would soon follow. Without even realizing, Aisha had begun to plan out a gift for her redheaded friend. _'Should I make him something? Or would a store-bought item be better…?' _Her roommate, a martial artist with blonde-green hair, often knitted various articles of clothing for her lover. _'Maybe I could ask her to teach me something simple?'_

She chuckled lightly to herself. It had been many months since their first meeting, and she had grown quite fond of the redhead's company. He was a mysterious boy, often surprising her with his vast knowledge. She wanted to give him something that he would treasure for a long time. A personally-made gift would make a greater impact, but the wrong gift may upset her redheaded friend…

Lost in her thoughts, Aisha did not notice that it had begun to rain until the downpour intensified heavily. She quickly put up a mana shield and raised her head, meeting eyes with a familiar redhead, wearing his signature outfit of red, black, and white. The boy raised an arm as a greeting.

"Hey Aisha. You're early today."

The girl smiled in response, her recent thoughts continuously pecking away at her mind.

"Hey Elsword? I was wondering…" She trailed off, feeling heat rise to her face. "Umm… That is, are you free this Christmas? I was thinking maybe we could spend some time together. B-But only if you want to!"

She quickly looked away, feeling her heartbeat increase in speed. She began fiddling with the hem of her shirt, nervously awaiting the boy's response.

"Christmas huh…"

Hearing no proper answer, Aisha glanced at the boy, surprised when she saw a sullen expression on his face. Her smile fell.

"Are you… …busy that day?" She asked timidly, her voice quivering slightly. The boy shook his head, a bright smile returning to his face.

"Nope! I'm free that day."

"Really? That's—"

"Just… I won't be here by then."

"…Eh?"

Aisha felt her heart sink.

"What… What do you mean by that?"

The boy averted his gaze, forcing a sad smile on his lips.

"Well… Remember how I said I was like a traveler?"

The girl nodded, recalling one of their earlier meetings. Her shoulders fell as she finally understood his words.

"So… When are you leaving?"

"…Today, in a few moments." The boy replied quietly.

"Oh…" Aisha trailed off, feeling her eyes begin to water. She blinked rapidly, forcing the tears back with no luck. Tilting her head down, she wiped her tears on her white sleeve, determined not to show her crying face.

"Then, when are you coming back?" She asked in between soft sniffles.

"I… Don't know…" The boy choked out his reply, feeling an overwhelming sense of grief rise in his chest.

Hearing no response, Elsword glanced at the purple-haired magician, seeing her head buried in her large sleeves, her shoulders rising and falling with each silent sob. He reached his arm out, but quickly retracted, unsure of how to comfort the crying girl. As he debated on what to do, the rain began to lighten. He cussed under his breath.

"Aisha I—"

He stopped himself, unsure of how to continue. He let out an irritated sigh. He was running out of time.

Gathering all his willpower, he grabbed the girl's delicate hands and raised her head, noticing her tear-streaked face and red eyes. Hesitating slightly, he closed his eyes and kissed the sobbing magician, relieved when she did not fight back. Their kiss was gentle and was over far too quickly. Parting their lips, Elsword pulled the little magician in a tight embrace, feeling his own eyes begin to water.

"I'm sorry Aisha, I'm so sorry…"

The girl rested her head on the taller boy's chest, unable to stop her overflow of tears.

"No more… Please don't say any more…"

The rain lightened to a few mere drops, waiting for the reluctant boy to follow. With one last gentle squeeze, Elsword pulled himself away and began to walk deep into the forest. Glancing over his shoulders, he saw the girl fall to her knees, her cries muffled by her large white sleeves – a scene that would forever replay in his mind.

* * *

The following months had flown past without even a glance at the desolate little magician. The second school term started and ended just as quickly as her redheaded friend entered and left her life. Before she knew it, she had graduated – with top marks, as always. The graduation ceremony had ended mere moments ago. Certificate in hand, Aisha leaned on the cream-colored wall that surrounded the academy, watching a flood of fellow students leave with their loved ones.

She let out a heavy sigh. Unlike Noah, who chose to use her magic as an asset in battle, Aisha had decided to join the Velder Magician Council – a group of powerful magicians that dealt with various everyday tasks regarding magic – as their meteorologist. She would study under the current meteorologist for a few years, until he retired, and would take his post as his successor. Her future was secured, but the little magician could not help but feel dull and anxious. Her mind constantly flickered back to the thought of her redheaded, first love.

It had been nearly a year since she last heard anything from him. Where was the boy now? Was he still his same cheery self? Was he still traveling? Or did he decide to settle down somewhere? And if so… With whom?

The girl let out a sigh. She had gotten over her heartbreak, or so she thought. Without even noticing, the school courtyard had emptied and the sky began to drizzle. Putting up her mana shield, Aisha decided to wander around town, possibly rest at a café for an hour or two. A pair of approaching footsteps, however, piqued her interest, eliminating her short plan. She raised her head, eyes wide as she stared at the figure before her. A young man with spiky scarlet hair, tied into two pigtails that hung over his shoulders, and a third ponytail near his nape, with similarly shaded, bright red eyes. He wore his usual attire of black, red, and white, and the corners of his lips were raised in a bright smile. He raised an arm in a greeting.

"Yo."

"El…sword?" The girl called, disbelief reflected in her large amethyst eyes.

The boy laughed.

"I'm back, Aisha. Sorry I was gone for so long. I… Had a little talk with, uh, my father. I brought good news though – this time, I'm staying, for good."

"…Really?" The girl could not believe his words. "You're not going to leave again? Ever?"

"Not ever. I promise."

The girl felt her body quiver.

"Pinky promise? You'll stay with me? Forever and ever?"

The boy laughed.

"Even in death, if that's what you'd like."

Tears began to form on the corners of the little magician's eyes. She wiped her tears on her long sleeves, though they merely continued to fall out of her amethyst eyes. Unable to restrain herself, she ran towards the boy, embracing him tightly as she bawled all her pent-up loneliness out.

"Stupid Elsword…" She cried out, in between heavy sobs. "I missed you so much…"

The red-haired boy returned the embrace, pulling the girl's delicate head to his chest. As the little magician calmed down, he pulled himself away slightly. He cupped the girl's tear-streaked face and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on her forehead.

"…I missed you too." He whispered.

"You promise you won't leave?"

"I promise. The rainy season might come and go, but I will always be by your side. I promise."

* * *

**~ Author's Notes ~**

Requested by Tsurara-Oikawa Chan, a very enthusiastic supporter of EMxRS, who was also kind enough to read over most of this oneshot before it was posted~.

By gods though, happy endings are difficult to write. You don't know how tempted I was to write an ending where it was like a fleeting romance. It was very tempting. /slapped by Tsurara

Next oneshot will be a DCxSD one, which might take a little while, as I'm not very knowledgeable, per say, with that pairing...

Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed this oneshot~! Feedback of any sorts is always welcome, and requests are still open~.


	3. Blessed by Gods (DCxSD)

**~ Blessed by Gods ~**

* * *

_Chung – Deadly Chaser_

_Ara – Sakra Devanam_

* * *

"Gah!"

Chung gasped for air as his back made contact with a cold brick wall. Forcing his legs to stand up, a long and sharp spear flew straight at him, piercing the wall behind him, merely centimeters away from his head.

"I believe it is time you learn to surrender, young prince of Hamel."

Leaning on his rifle-like Destroyer cannon for support, the young prince gritted his teeth and glared at the godly figure before him.

"Not yet…" He mumbled. "I can still fight."

The silver haired girl let out an irritated sigh. With a brisk pace, she strode over to the injured boy and reclaimed her spear, walking away without even a single glance.

"You will not last another minute, your highness. Our dual is over, accept your loss."

The girl closed her eyes, sending her mind to sleep. Nearby, the young prince watched, amazed as always as the girl's luscious hair faded from a moonlight silver to a midnight black, her nine white tails and golden spear dispersing in an array of bright lights. The girl turned around to face the injured prince, her soft golden eyes wide and anxious.

"Your highness! Are you all right?"

The prince laughed lightly, brushing away the girl's worry.

"I'm fine, don't worry. As I thought, Silver is really strong…" He praised, picking himself up. A wide smile crept onto the girl's face upon hearing her guardian deity's name.

"Isn't she? Silver is really amazing, I can only dream of being as strong as her."

"You're amazing too, Ara. I can't imagine how terrifying it would be, having someone else in control of your body…" He furrowed his brows, quickly relaxing his face to flash a quick smile at the golden-eyed girl.

"Thank you, your highness…" Ara mumbled, feeling her chest swarm with delight. Compared to her ancestors and older brother, Ara could only communicate with the heavenly deities and resurrect them in her body. Often due to her timid nature, there were times the deities refused her request, causing other religious families to mock her abilities as a Hsien. Compliments to her abilities were always rare and greatly cherished by the little priestess.

"Oh! Um, your highness is really amazing too! Being able to fight on equal terms with Silver." She quickly added. The prince let out a soft chuckle.

"Thank you, though I still have much to learn from her. I should train some more, before our daily spar tomorrow."

"But, your highness, your wounds…"

"They're just small scratches, don't worry about them." The boy laughed. "And by the way, didn't I ask you to just call me 'Chung'?"

"But…" She trailed off, still feeling uneasy about referring to a royal family member by their first name. "…Yes, of course… …Chung."

Her response, though soft and hesitant, made the blond prince smile. Picking up his Destroyer, Chung quickly glanced around the palace courtyard, inspecting it of any major damages caused from the fight, and, seeing none, began to walk back inside, inviting the girl along with him. He took a step, wincing at the pain shot from his leg,

"As I thought, you're badly injured!"

The girl quickly grabbed the prince's shoulders and seated him down, closing her eyes to call forth the assistance of Illyria – the goddess of Light.

Her long black hair quickly faded into a light shade of blonde, kissed by the bright sunlight. Her eyes still closed, she knelt down beside the prince, her arms hovering slowly above his wounded leg. A warm glow emitted from her fingertips as the spear-made cut sealed itself, erasing any signs of damage on the boy's fair skin. Unfortunately, Illyria's powers were unable to restore clothing. The goddess let out a gentle sigh.

"I apologize, young prince. My blessings are unable to affect abiotic beings."

"That's all right. Thank you for your help." Chung responded, smiling sweetly.

Returning the smile, Illyria stood up and opened her eyes, returning the body to its original owner. Golden hair faded to black as the young girl regained control over her body. Ara watched as the prince stood back up, applying pressure to his leg to test its strength. Placing his foot down, he let out a laugh.

"As always, you never fail to surprise me. Was this the first time you called upon Illyria?" The girl nodded, grinning sheepishly. "That's really amazing, honest."

Chung started to walk towards the palace, stopping only to look over his shoulder, beckoning the young girl to follow.

"Come on now. Miss Rena won't be pleased if we're late for afternoon tea."

* * *

Reloading his cannon, Chung shot a bullet at the silver-haired goddess. Anticipating the move, Silver quickly swung her arms, cleanly slicing the orichalcum-made bullet in half. She continued to spin her spear around to her back and back to her front, using the momentum to lunge herself forward at the defenseless prince. Just as the spear was about to pierce the prince's heart, Chung swung his Destroyer in front of him as a shield. It may be made of lightweight materials, but it could certainly stop a powerful attack from the goddess, or two.

And stop, it did. The silver-haired goddess stumbled, surprised at the sudden counter. The prince beamed, overjoyed at his successful attack against the battle-loving Gumiho. But before he could rejoice, Silver quickly tightened her grip and swung her golden spear behind and above her, executing a heavy, vertical smash. Noticing this, Chung quickly raised his Destroyer, but with the sudden impact, he was unable to maintain balance, and fell to his knees, his rifle-like cannon lying beside him.

The silver-haired goddess took a step back, gently slamming the bottom of her spear onto the ground. A faint smile crept onto her rosy lips as she watched the boy pick himself up.

"You're improved, young prince. I admit, you are the first to have fought equally against me for more than a few minutes."

"Thank you, Miss Silver. But I still need to become even stronger…"

The goddess let out a low sigh.

"Do not be deceived, young prince. Strength is not all about power and one's fighting ability."

Chung turned to face the goddess, confusion visible all over his pale white face.

"Strength is not all about power…?" He repeated.

Closing her eyes, Silver gave a knowing smile before sending her mind to sleep, returning the body to its original owner. As her hair returned to its lustrous ebony-black, Ara opened her eyes, giving an encouraging smile at the perplexed prince.

"Don't worry, Chung! I'm sure you'll understand Silver's words one day, and become even stronger! …Though to be honest, even I don't really understand what she means…" She trailed off, ending with a soft laugh.

The blond prince forced a reassuring smile onto his face, though the goddess' words still bothered him. _'In order to become stronger, I need more than just power…?'_

As if sensing his unease, Ara clapped her hands together, calling out cheerfully,

"Oh, I know! Why don't we ask Airelinna, the Flaring Fairy? She's often regarded as the guardian deity of Elves. I'm sure she'll be able to offer a piece of advice or two."

With a nod of consensual agreement, Ara closed her eyes and called for the Elven deity. After a brief moment of silence, her long black locks shifted, changing color to a light sea green. Eyes closed, Airelinna crossed her legs, as if she were sitting on an invisible throne in midair. She smiled at the prince before her.

"Greetings, little one. What do you request of me?" Her voice was slow and light but mature, almost to a singing-like quality.

Placing his Destroyer down, Chung gave a polite bow.

"It is an honor to meet you, Miss Airelinna. I was recently informed by another, that there is a higher tier of strength that requires more than raw power. I… I wish to learn how to achieve this tier." He fumbled with his last words, hoping he did not come off too rude.

"More power...?" The green-haired deity trailed off, examining the boy with a slight sense of curiosity.

Her silence worried the little prince. Humans have always been a race of competition and conquering. How would an Elven deity feel about sharing her knowledge to a power-hungry fool? He began to fidget with his fingers, waiting for the deity to respond. A silvery laugh caught his attention.

"Humans are always been in sought for more power; it seems this law still remains true. I cannot give you an absolute answer, little one." The prince's lips fell to a slight frown, earning another light laugh from the Flaring Fairy.

"However, I _can _assist you in discovering your answer." She gave a knowing smile at the confused prince.

"I would appreciate that. Thank you."

The deity nodded, pleased with his response.

"Little prince, why do you seek power?" She asked, a teasing smile forming on her lips.

"I wish to protect those dear to me." His answer was clear and resolute, his cerulean blue eyes proudly reflecting his answer.

"And who are they, those dear to you?"

The boy hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Who were the ones he wished to protect? There was his Father, his late Mother... And as the soon-to-be Guardian of Hamel, he would need to protect all the citizens of Senace…

As if sensing his uncertainty, Airelinna asked sweetly,

"Your family and duty aside, is there someone who you wish to protect more than the others? Someone you enjoy seeing every day? Someone you wish to spend the rest of your life with?"

As the Elven deity spoke those words, an image of an orange blur flickered in the prince's mind. _'Someone I want to protect, more than my family and country…?' _He asked himself. He lowered his head and rested his hand on his chin, thinking of a suitable response. Someone, who would make him sad, if they had left his side?

The orange blur flew past his mind once more, but slower this time, allowing the blond prince to recognize the smiling young girl with ebony black hair, clad in an oriental white robe with sunset orange lining. He widened his eyes, quickly raising his head to face the Elven deity.

"I see you have found your answer." The fairy smiled. "Justice is one method to increase your strength, if you have the mental capabilities to endure the following trials of human moral. However, for a young prince in your situation, the desire to protect your precious companion should allow you to surpass your current potential." She opened her eyes, revealing a pair of clear, azure orbs.

"I wish you the best of luck, little human."

And with those words, Airelinna closed her eyes once more, returning to the realms of the heavenly deities. As the fairy left, Chung continued to ponder about his thoughts. Was the image of his dear friend merely a decision made by his brain, or was it a reflex? He did not know, but staring at the smiling amber orbs before him, he grew to realize how much he had appreciated her staying by him. Not just to call forth Silver as a sparring partner, or the times she helped him with various tasks, but the times where they merely sat and chatted over a nice cup of tea. The corners of his lips rose in a smile as he realized, yes, he had grown very fond of the little priestess in front of him. But were his feelings sincere...?

"What are you thinking about?" The boy snapped out of his trance, to find the older girl leaning close to him. He quickly looked away, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. Why was it only now that he had realized how lovely the girl looked?

"Is something the matter?" The girl asked, beginning to worry. The boy quickly shook his head, though he still averted his gaze.

"No, no, nothing at all! Just… …You look really nice today…"

"Y-Your highness…" Ara hung her head, clutching the hem of her silk-made skirt.

Hearing nothing more, Chung stole a glance at the little priestess. Noticing her sullen mood, he began to worry. Did he upset her somehow?

"Ara—"

"Your highness, please don't become a womanizing prince or a male escort!"

The Sakra Devanam glared at the boy with worried, watery eyes, as if begging him not to stray off the path of a chivalrous noble. Seeing her rare childish face, the prince could not help but begin to laugh, earning a strange look from his older friend.

"No, no! Don't worry, I have no intention of becoming either, I promise."

"…Oh. That's a relief…" Ara closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh.

As he collected himself, Chung turned to face the little priestess, meeting with her large amber eyes.

"But in all honesty…" The corners of his lips rose in a genuinely sweet smile. "You look beautiful today, Ara."

The girl felt her face heat up, and quickly covered her cheeks.

"Your highness, your father would be very devastated if he were to hear you became a male escort…" She mumbled, earning a light chuckle from the prince.

"I won't, I promise! I have to become a worthy Guardian for Hamel, after all." Picking up his Destroyer, Chung started towards the royal palace. "Come on now, it's almost time for afternoon tea."

Feeling her face cool down, the little priestess lowered her arms and followed after the prince, silently admiring his determination to serve his country. She suddenly recalled his conversation with the Flaring Fairy. The boy had quickly looked away, as if he had realized something important, yet embarrassing. And the timing with his compliment… _'Is it possible that the one he wishes to protect the most… …Is me?' _She stopped, raising her arm as a chuckle escaped from her mouth. No, it couldn't be. The boy had eyes for greater things in the world, and she was a mere priestess with no special abilities. An image of the young prince suddenly appeared in her mind, his innocent smile warming her heart.

_"You're amazing too, Ara. I can't imagine how terrifying it would be, having someone else in control of your body…"_

_ 'Maybe, just maybe…'_ Not wishing to raise any more false hopes, Ara shook her head, snapping out of her daydream. She quickly followed after the little prince, unable to hide the broad smile that had suddenly appeared on her lips.

* * *

**~ Author's Notes ~**

Requested by: RevolutionizedWorld (On a completely unrelated note, I love how fluent your username is and how cool it sounds)

First and foremost, to any ChungxAra fans, I apologize deeply for shaming your community.

I felt like the idea was good, but the oneshot didn't turn out as... Well, for lack of better terms, as romantic as I had hoped. I guess it's because the pairing's still very new to me...? /shotI'msorrythatwasaterribleexcuse

Also, terrible title is terrible. Someone teach me how to come up with good names. /shot

Anyhow, I'm sorry that this took a long time. The next oneshot, IPxDC, shouldn't take nearly as long, hopefully. I'll be leaving for America next week though, so if the oneshot isn't uploaded by the 23rd, it'll most likely be uploaded after September 5th-ish. Sorry about that.

One last thing - requests will temporarily be closed, due to the above reason, and the fact that I got far more requests than I expected... (Not that I'm displeased)

Thanks again to Tsurara for proof-reading over this, and thank you for reading. As always, feedback of any and all sorts is openly welcome.


	4. Eternally Mine (IPxDC)

**~ Eternally Mine ~**

* * *

_Pally – Iron Paladin_

_Chaser – Shooting Guardian / Deadly Chaser_

* * *

Pally gazed at the cold, dark manor before him. Despite the sun not having set yet, the air around the manor was dark and quiet, much like a waiting predator. The solid front and numerous tall towers gave it the impression of an ancient castle rather than a mansion. Every wall, every brick used to build this gigantic house, was colored a sinister shade of black. Even the stone stairs leading to the door were an unnaturally dark shade. The very few windows placed here and there were tall and arced, their crimson red curtains not even letting in a single ray of light.

The young boy bit his bottom lip, glancing down at the silk-lined dress he wore – a puffy and simple but elegant white gown that was adorned with several ruffles. The top layer parted from the front, the bottom parting on the sides – separated in such a manner as to allow the boy to easily reach down and grab the small dagger tied to his leg. The corset was a matching white, showing off his chest-line and rosy shoulders. A large brooch rested on his chest as the centerpiece, its golden frame enclosing a bright blue gem. Silk ribbons flowed from the brooch, meeting with long flowing sleeves that reached down almost to his knees. His long, creamy-blond hair had been decorated with various pins and white flowers, giving the impression of a virgin bride.

The village committee, with the assistance of the Ruby Knights, had spent months deciding on the next sacrifice's appearance, but due to a sudden change in candidate, they were unable to effectively plan an outfit both appealing and tactically efficient. _'"Most optimal dress for mobility" my ass…' _The boy huffed, irritated beyond belief at how tight and stiff the corset was. He was amazed that he had not suffocated to death yet.

Breathing deeply to collect himself, Pally lifted his skirt and climbed up to the door, marveling at his adeptness to not trip in his 3-inch heels. Standing in front of the looming double door, Pally narrowed his cerulean eyes and raised his right arm, about to knock. Just as his pale hand made contact with the door, a sudden gust of wind forced the doors to open inwards, revealing the inside of the large manor.

Pally gasped, surprised at not only the unnatural wind, but at the elegance of the manor décor. Despite being over millions of years old, everything looked almost brand new and completely void of dust or dirt. Like the outside, the walls and ceiling were of a dark shade of black. The floor was covered with a large carpet, designed with multiple blue roses, their vines intertwining with each other, framed with an oriental border of earthly reds, golds, and greens. Directly in front of him, near the back of the room, were two staircases, spiraling around each other, leading to the second floor, their handles a dark shade of gold. On the back wall, not too far above the staircases, were two large portraits facing each other – one of a handsome young man, with long golden hair tied in a ponytail, his ruby eyes cold and calculating; the other of a beautiful young woman, with gentle blue eyes and faded silver locks. A tall chandelier hung from the ceiling, its many crystals flickering with the purple lights of a Will o' the wisp. Eyeing the spacious room, Pally noticed that though there were many doors, there was not a single piece of furniture to be found in the grand room.

"Welcome. Please do make yourself comfortable."

Pally quickly turned to face the voice – a young boy standing not too far from him. _'What the—?! When did he…'_

The boy was clad in a simple black noble's suit, sewn with elaborate gold lining. Draped over his left shoulder was a black cape, reaching down far past his feet. From the front, it appeared to swing down and connect to the boy's right hip from behind. A small brooch rested over his heart, the centerpiece, an unidentifiable gem of an almost sickly dark-blue hue. With gloved hands and black loafers, the only pieces of skin visible were his neck and face. His creamy-blonde hair was of a similar shade to the gowned, sacrificial boy, though it was just a tinge darker, spikier, and cut short, save for a ponytail that rested on his caped shoulder. Despite being only slightly taller than the village boy, the young noble had a daunting and superior air about him.

The noble boy smiled, his narrow, ruby eyes glancing over at the newcomer. _'How lovely… Perhaps this one will suffice…'_ Chuckling lightly to himself, he extended his right arm, offering his gloved hand to the maiden-like boy.

"Please do come in. The doors will be unable to close if you stand there."

Pally listened obediently, deciding not to act rashly and focus on identifying any forms of weaknesses. With slight signs of hesitation, he picked up his heavy skirt and took a few steps forwards, jumping slightly as the doors slammed close behind him. Collecting himself, he cleared his throat, for once, glad that his voice had not yet broken.

"May I ask who the master of this manor is?" His voice was a mid-ranged pitch, his tone sweet and sincere – perfect for deceiving an unsuspecting enemy.

The noble boy cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh? Is there a reason for your inquiry? Perhaps you would like to meet him?" He added, elaborating his last few words slightly, in a mischievous tone.

"Well, considering I was sent to become his bride…"

"B-Bride?" The noble boy was taken aback. Sending a young woman from the village, to become his bride?! This was not part of the agreement… He cleared his throat, collecting himself. "I-I don't believe the master was notified, much less accepted, of an arranged marriage…"

_'Please, it's so obvious you are the owner of this damn mansion…' _Faking a surprised expression, Pally opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced by a gloved hand brushing his cheek, sending unpleasant shivers down his spine.

"You are quite the lovely young lady though. It would be a shame to let you leave without gaining anything." The noble boy pulled his hand away and started towards the staircase. He glanced over his shoulder, his lips curled upwards in an alluring smile.

"Please follow me."

Pally cursed, making sure not to be overheard. With great reluctance, he followed the black-clad boy, restraining himself from slipping off his heels and throwing them at the poised boy before him.

As they passed by the portraits, Pally stopped and gazed at them, connecting the resemblance of the portraits to the black-clad boy.

"Are these your parents?" He inquired, not realizing the words had left his mouth.

The noble boy turned around, noticing the visitor's curious blue eyes observing the large paintings. He dropped his smile, letting out a low sigh.

"Yes… Unfortunately, both are no longer here. Mother passed away many years ago, and Father left this world shortly after."

Pally nodded his head apologetically, before remembering the boy's identity and his current duty. He shouldn't be feeling sympathetic for a damn monster that has cursed the city of Hamel for centuries. _'On the bright side, he finally revealed who he was…'_

"I assume then, if these are your parents, you must be the master of this manor?"

The young noble stared, cussing silently as he realized his blunder. He let out an amused sigh.

"Well, looks like I've been found out." He chuckled. "You're a very clever little one aren't you?"

"My, you think so?" Pally teased, resting a finger on his lower lips. He hated having to act like a delicate young girl – especially with his feminine looks – but if it would allow him to complete his task quicker…

"But if you are indeed the master…" He strode over and gently pressed himself against the boy's body, resting his hands on the taller boy's shoulders. He tilted his head upwards to gaze seductively into his target's ruby-colored eyes, and whispered sweetly,

"Won't you allow me to fulfil my duty as a newlywed bride?"

The young noble ran his tongue over his dried lips, feeling his body heat rise feverishly. He could feel the maiden's breath on his neck, her pale fingers dancing to his back, her long legs teasingly greeting his own legs. And this rapid heartbeat reverberating throughout his body… …The owner of it? He did not know.

With great reluctance, he pulled himself away, surprising the maiden slightly. He cleared his throat, obvious to the burning sensation lingering on his cheeks.

"I-I don't believe this place is suitable for s-such actions…" He glanced around, fingering his brooch as he attempted to calm his mind and body down.

Pally smiled. _'He doesn't seem to be too experienced with women… Good, I can use this to my advantage.' _Without missing a single beat, he wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck, flicking his short ponytail back, and cooed,

"Shall we continue somewhere more… …Private, then?" He let out a light chuckle as he watched the boy's eyes dart about, attempting to come up with a proper response.

"This manner of, ah, conversing is quite… …Bold for a lady like you. Are you feeling unwell? Perhaps you would like to rest for a bit?" He asked, stumbling over his words. Such actions were unknown to him – even the women who came before were often frightened beyond belief at their first encounter.

"Hmm~, why not. Would you mind if I stayed in your room? After all, it's not unusual for a husband and wife to sleep together." As he spoke, Pally raised his right hand, lightly brushing his fingers over the boy's crimson-red face. Much to Pally's amusement, the young noble gently batted his hand away and averted his gaze, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if he were trying to resist the maiden-like boy's charms.

"My room…? It is no different from the guest rooms, however…"

"But it has your scent, doesn't it? It's been claimed by you, so it _is_ different." Pally replied. He reached for the noble boy's left hand, intertwining their fingers together and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Please?"

The young noble pulled his hand away, his eyes in deep thought before releasing a defeated sigh.

"I suppose that's all right…" He murmured, his answer barely audible to the gowned boy.

Pally beamed, his arrogance of victory hidden behind his seemingly innocent smile. He clung onto the boy's left arm as a deceivingly cheerful laugh escaped from his rosy lips.

"Lead the way~!" He called out playfully, earning a quiet chuckle from the taller boy.

"Of course, my lady. But before that, may I inquire your name?"

"Pally." The boy answered bluntly, seeing no reason to lie or avoid the question. "And you?"

"Chaser." The noble replied, smiling. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Pally."

"The pleasure is mine, Chaser." _'The pleasure of killing you is mine…'_

* * *

"Here we are." Chaser called as he swung the wooden door open. He stepped inside the large bedroom, his maiden-like companion in tow.

Pally let out a low whistle as he inspected the room. The walls were of a creamy white – a complete contrast from the main entranceway. The floor was covered in a white fur rug, barren of even a single speck of dust. Directly across from the door was a tall, arched window, its crimson curtains revealing only a slimmer of light from the now setting sun. To the left was an ample-sized bed dressed with comfortable looking white sheets. Across from the bed was a set of dark ebony wooded dresser, cabinet, and wardrobe, all looking quite refined and antique. Hanging from the high ceiling was a small, but intricate glass chandelier, its dim light illuminating the barren room. Aside from those main objects, the room, albeit large, was far too empty. It was clearly hiding something from the young village boy.

"If you require any assistance, simply speak your request aloud." The young noble spoke. "I'm sure you already know this, but this manor is inhabited by many inhuman beings. As long as you do not upset them, they shall bring no harm to you. It is, after all, one of our most ancient creeds."

"Oh?" The maiden-like boy turned to face the taller boy, his cerulean eyes brimming with curiosity. "May I ask what kind of inhuman being you are?"

Upon hearing the question, Chaser furrowed his brows slightly.

"Were you not informed, before you were sent here?"

Pally shook his head, gazing eagerly for a response – an answer he already knew.

Feeling slightly mischievous, Chaser placed a hand on his brooch, his ruby eyes shining playfully, the corners of his lips rising in a haughty smirk.

"Would you like to take a guess, Miss Pally?"

"Hmm~…" Without breaking their gaze, Pally slowly strode over to the taller boy, lightly brushing his fingertips over his skirt. "Are you… …A vampire?"

As the words left his mouth, Pally shoved Chaser to the ground, laying his legs over the taller boy's lower body. With his left hand, he grabbed the boy's wrists and pinned them above his head. With his right hand, he grabbed the knife hidden by his leg and pressed the blade against Chaser's pale neck, drawing a slimmer of blood. Within a matter of seconds, the young noble was dominated and completely trapped.

"What is the meaning of this?" Chaser hissed, glaring harshly at the maiden-like boy.

Pally gave an amused snort.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to kill you." His lips rose in a smile, though his sharp blue eyes were narrow and cold. "You think just because you're a little different from us humans, you have the rights to terrorize us?" His smile fell.

"Pathetic. Because of your stupid sacrificial creed, Hamel is now devoid of most of its young women. What do you have to say for yourself, you despicable vampire?"

Chaser's eyes widened with every word. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself.

"This… I…" He cleared his throat, speaking in a louder, but still shaky tone.

"The agreement was for Hamel to send a young woman every six months until I have found the one I have been searching for. The lady sent would stay as my companion, and return to Hamel after three months have passed, unless she is whom I seek. In return, my family line would serve as Guardians and protect Hamel from any corrupt demons. I do not see where or how I have defied this agreement."

Pally scoffed in reply.

"Oh, yes." He droned on cynically. "Except you forgot to mention that you would curse every woman sent here."

"Curse?" Chaser repeated, looking genuinely surprised.

"Don't you dare start feigning innocence." The maiden-like boy spat harshly. "All the women who returned spent their days fawning over you. Some even went insane, spending so much time thinking about your lovely little self that they practically became walking death magnets!"

The young noble flinched at the harsh words, unable to respond. He was completely unaware that his former acquaintances had fallen for him so. Was it a side effect from viewing his illusion magic for such long periods of time?

"Was…Was it my fault…?" He mumbled, barely able to even hear himself.

"What was that?" Pally asked, though he received no response.

Chaser turned his head to face the wall, various thoughts running through his mind. His mirage spells, though weak and incomplete, should not be strong enough to cast a long-lasting or permanent hex onto the viewer. Was it a spell cast by his father, before he left? _'No, they shouldn't be able to last this long…'_

Seeing as the boy had nothing more to say, Pally let out an irritated huff and pulled his right arm back, raising the blade into the air. He narrowed his eyes, determined to finish the vampire quickly.

"Nnngh…!" As if he was suffocating, the young noble suddenly started to cough, gasping heavily for air. He glanced at the window, eyes wide as he watched the sun disappear from the sky. His eyes darted back, meeting with confused, cerulean orbs.

"P-Please let me go!" He called out, desperately trying to escape from the maiden-like boy's grasp.

Surprised by the vampire's sudden change in nature, Pally lowered his blade and stared, unsure of how to react. _'Is this some sort of act…?' _He asked himself, unsure of how to obtain the answer.

Eyes constantly flickering between the window and his attacker, Chaser began to thrash about. Jolts of electricity ran throughout his body, intensifying his heartbeat. His mind began to race. He couldn't be seen like that. He would not allow it. But there was no time left. What to do?

"Please! I beg of you, let go of—" Before he could finish his sentence, Chaser let out a pained cry.

Startled, Pally pulled away, releasing his grip on the vampire's wrists. He watched, both amazed and confused, as the taller boy began to shrink. In a matter of mere moments, what laid in front of him was no longer a proud, mature vampire, but a small, delicate little boy.

His body was much smaller, younger, though his features remained the same. His creamy-blond hair was shorter and a little less spiky. The hair elastic which once held his now non-existent ponytail laid on the floor nearby. The main noticeable difference, beside the change of size and age, was that his eyes were no longer a dark red, but a light shade of innocent blue.

A brief moment of silence passed between the two, before the little boy began to cry, choking on his silent sobs. His arms now free, he covered his face with his excessively large sleeves, humiliated beyond belief that his true form was revealed.

"What… What is the meaning of this?" Pally asked hesitatingly, though all he received were muffled sobs as an answer. _'Is this some sort of joke? But he seems genuinely upset…'_

He straightened his back, stretching his upper body. All his determination to kill the manor's owner had suddenly disappeared, and were replaced with a bundle of questions. He let out a loud sigh.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that the room too, had changed. He raised his head and further observed the now less-spacious room.

The carpet now displayed an intricate design of various colors, giving the impression of an artificial flower field. The porcelain-white walls were barren, save for the countless crayon drawings covering the walls – blue-white clouds near the ceiling; green grass near the floor; a dark blue sea on one wall, filled with all sorts of colorful fish and marine creatures; a rainbow in the sky; the sun on one wall, the moon on the opposite wall with countless stars in between; a little boy, standing in a flower garden, holding hands with a blond-ponytailed man and a silver-haired woman.

There were now two dressers instead of one, resting beside one another. The wardrobe appeared to be slightly wider, while the cabinet remained the same. Bookshelves lined the wall with the door, each bulging with the colorful spines of ageless novels. An end-table laid beside the bed, a comfortable-looking seat placed near it. The bed remained the same, save for the endless army of various stuffed animals that littered the room.

"What is this?" Pally repeated, his eyes taking in all the detail of the once bland room.

Hearing no response, he glanced at the little boy, unmoving and without a single peep to be heard. Cautiously, he moved the boy's arms away, realizing that he had fallen asleep.

"…What. The. Hell."

With an irritated groan, Pally stood up and stretched his body. He glanced at the sleeping boy, a mixture of emotions rising and falling in his chest. His target was a cruel, centuries-old vampire prince who had seduced Hamel's women to death, but the vampire in front of him was the complete opposite. Pally raised a hand to his temples as a long sigh escaped from his mouth. He wanted to complete his duty, but to kill such an innocent-looking child…

_'I'll deal with later, when he wakes up…' _He sighed again. He was never any good with children.

Slipping his knife away, Pally picked up the sleeping boy and carried him over to the bed, a grin forming on his lips as he realized how adorably silly the boy looked in such large clothes. Without worrying about proper sleepwear, he gingerly tucked the boy in. After poking his cheeks a few times, to confirm he was really asleep, Pally strode over to the wardrobe, being careful not to step on one of the million stuffed animals littered about, hoping to find something more comfortable to change into.

Picking out a simple white noble's suit, lined with sky blue silk, Pally quickly untied his corset, letting out a pleased sigh at finally being able to breathe properly, and changed into the suit, exchanging his heels for a pair of white loafers. The clothes were, surprisingly, a perfect fit. As he combed his hair free of the flowers and pins, he eyed the floor for the hair elastic and, thinking the boy wouldn't mind if he borrowed it, picked it up and tied his hair up in a high ponytail. With a simple change of clothes and hair, Pally had transformed from a sweet virgin bride to a handsome young noble. He let out a light chuckle, imagining the boy's surprised expression when he found out "Miss Pally" was a "Mister".

Feeling a cold breeze, he turned around to find a pair of small, transparent purple flames pulling his dress away. He flinched at the paranormal sight, but quickly relaxed, remembering the boy's words about the manor's inhabitants.

"Thank you." He called out, assuming the flame-spirits were merely storing it away somewhere.

The sun had just set mere minutes ago, and he was not tired in the least. With nothing more to say or do, Pally strode over to a bookshelf, pulling out three random books. He then walked back to the bed, placed the books on the table, pulled the wooden chair up and seated himself down comfortably. Crossing a leg over the other, he leaned back in the armchair and picked up one of the three books, opening it to the first page.

* * *

"Mmm…"

Picking himself up, Chaser rubbed the lethargy out of his eyes. Stifling back a yawn, he glanced around his room. His mind snapped wide awake as his eyes made contact with foreign, cerulean eyes.

"Good morning." The blue-eyed boy called out, his lips turned upwards in a condescending smirk.

"Good morning…" He replied reflexively, his eyes widened as he recognized the owner of the cerulean orbs. "M-Miss Pally?!"

"_Mister _Pally." The maiden-like boy corrected, his smirk still blatantly visible on his lips.

"Mister Pally…?" The boy repeated, his eyebrows furrowed in curiosity and confusion.

"Mister Pally."

"…_Mister_, Pally?"

"Mister Pally." The blue-eyed boy confirmed, stifling back a laugh. "I'm a guy."

Chaser stared at the curious individual in front of him. Certainly, at this very moment, he looked like a mature young man, but the little boy could not erase the images of the beautiful young woman clad in a lovely white gown.

"…Mister Pally?" He asked once more.

"Yup. Mister Pally." Said person smiled, unable to further hide his amusement.

"…"

"…Ah. He fainted."

* * *

With a soft mewl, Chaser picked himself up, rubbing his eyes groggily. _'What a strange dream…' _He thought to himself. _'A pretty lady appeared and started flirting with me, and then she sudden started threatening me. And then she became all sweet again but claimed she was a boy…'_

"Good morning. You gonna actually stay awake this time?"

Startled, Chaser quickly turned to face the voice, eyes widening in shock as he realized no, unfortunately, it was not a dream.

"M-Miss…ter Pally?" He asked cautiously.

"Yup! Glad you remembered." The blue-eyed boy responded, laughing cheerfully.

Without looking away from the little boy, Pally uncrossed his legs and rested his elbows on the armrest, clasping his fingers together.

"Alright, look here kid, now that you're awake, I'm gonna ask you some questions. Understood?"

"I'm not a kid!" The boy huffed in response, earning an amused smirk from the taller male.

"Whatever you say." Pally teased, earning a childish glare from the little boy.

"So first things first. What's your name?"

"Chaser. I told you that already."

"Full name?"

"Chaser von Vermiculus the third."

Pally nodded, recording the information in his brain.

"And your age?"

"Umm…" The little boy placed his hand on his chin, staring at the bland ceiling as he attempted to recall his information.

"In human years, about… 317 years?"

Pally let out a low whistle.

"And in vampire years, in accordance to the Malkavian calendar, about 15 years." The little boy continued.

"Fifteen huh? So you're a year younger than me." Pally muttered to himself.

"Okay, so what's with all these stuffed animals?" He questioned, gesturing to the army of plushies inhabiting the rom.

The boy simply lowered his head and averted his gaze, though a faint tinge of red was visible on his face.

"N-No reason, I just like them…" He muttered, earning a soft laugh from the taller blond.

"One last question – are you always this honest towards strangers?"

"W-what? No, I—Erm…" Taken aback, Chaser began to blabber nonsensically, attempting to redeem himself, albeit unsuccessfully. Hearing the taller boy laugh, Chaser began to pout, feeling his face flush in shame.

"That's not funny Mister Pally…" He grumbled, earning a half-hearted apology in reply.

"Sorry, sorry." Collecting himself, Pally asked,

"Moving on, you seem so different from yesterday. Are there multiple souls in your body, or do you just act differently depending on which form you take?"

"I have one soul." The little boy murmured in reply. "But I don't like others seeing my true form so I cast an illusion spell…"

Pally mouthed an 'oh' at the little boy's response.

"So I assume this child-like body is your true form?"

The little boy nodded, averting his gaze.

"All pure-blood vampires need to find a certain person before our body and powers mature." The boy explained, still avoiding eye contact. "Right now, my powers only last until sunset, and I can't use them in bright areas..."

"So to find this person, your family made a deal with Hamel, and you used some sort of power to change your appearance as you investigated the women, because you were embarrassed about being in a child's body?"

The boy nodded his head slowly in confirmation, hearing quiet snickering from the taller male.

"That's quite amusing to be honest." The taller boy jeered, laughing mentally as he watched the Chaser's face turn a bright shade of red.

"Tell you what." Pally began, leaning on his right arm. "I'll help you find this person, and in return, you call off Hamel's part of the agreement. I don't want any more innocents to die because of your unnatural charms."

"R-Really?" Chaser gazed at the taller boy eagerly, but his eyes quickly fell. "But… What if you can't find them?"

"I'm part of the Ruby Knights." He replied with a laugh. "We've got connections all over Elrios and Aernas, so as long as they're human and still alive, we're certain to find them soon."

He flashed a reassuring smile at the smaller boy, leaning in to pat his head. Much to his surprise, the vampire boy did not pull away, but rather, seemed to enjoy the touch. Pulling his hand away, Pally continued to speak,

"So, this person you're looking for… Do you know anything about them?"

The boy shook his head dejectedly.

"I just know they have to be like Mother…"

"So a young woman with white hair and blue eyes?"

"Not necessarily…" He replied, earning a groan from the taller male. "One of the Elders informed me that this time it would be a human, though."

Pally cocked an eyebrow.

"This time? What was it last time?"

"Father's special person, Mother, was an air Nymph." The boy responded cheerfully, smiling at the fond memories of his beloved parents.

Pally nodded his head slowly. _'Is it possible, that this special person is someone the vampire loves?' _He wondered to himself. _'In that case, this might be more difficult than I thought…'_

"Hey kid—"

"Chaser." The boy corrected with a huff.

"…Hey Chaser," Pally began again, "What kind of person do you like and want to marry?"

The little boy stared, before placing a hand on his chin and tilting his head to gaze up at the blank ceiling. _'What kind of person do I like…?'_ With this thought in mind, he began to ramble out various traits.

"Someone who's pretty and kind, with pale white skin and long flowing creamy-blond hair, and blue eyes like the sea and sky merged together." A sickening feeling began to churn in Pally's stomach as the little boy continued to describe his ideal person.

"Someone who is sweet and gentle and friendly, but at the same time, really brave and not scared of you no matter what. And who will always love me, and is never afraid to show it." He finished, unaware that his mouth had rose in a slight smile.

He turned to look at his human companion, surprised when he saw the taller boy's face twist in a disgusted expression.

"Did… Did you just describe me?" Pally asked, unsure of how to feel.

"Of course not! I just described Miss Pally." The little boy retorted, pouting childishly.

"But I am Miss Pally."

"No, you're _Mister _Pally."

"Look, I don't think you understand. That was me, just in a dress and flowers."

"Nuh-uh! That was Miss Pally!" Chaser argued back, not wanting to ruin the image of the lovely woman he met earlier.

Heaving out a sigh, Pally raised a hand to his temples.

"Are you really a 300-year old vampire?" He mumbled with a deadpan expression.

"Are you really a boy?"

"…Fair enough."

Standing up briskly, Pally strode to the door. He grabbed the doorknob, turning it as he glanced over his shoulder to call out at the little boy,

"Go get changed – into something that fits your real body. We're going to start your search in Hamel, so hurry up. I'll wait for you by the main door."

With nothing else to say, Pally slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind him. Leaning on the wooden door, he ran his fingers through his long hair, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh. _'This is going to be difficult…'_

* * *

Hesitantly, Chaser climbed down the spiral stairs, dressed in casual street clothes he had not worn for years. He wore a simple white dress shirt with large loose sleeves and a soft beige vest over top. For his bottom garments, he wore a pair of slightly darker shorts, matched up with black socks that reached just below his knees, and simple brown loafers. Gathering all his courage, he quickly strode down the remaining steps and towards his taller human companion, still dressed in a white noble's suit, who raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"…You're going out in _that_?" He asked, gesturing to the boy's clothes with his eyes.

"I don't have many other street clothes. The last time I went out to a human village was back when I was just 200 years old." The boy retorted, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Is that so?" Pally teased, his lips turning upwards in a playful smirk. He crossed his arms, leaning nonchalantly on the main door. "Then we might as well go out and buy you some new clothes while we're at it."

Straightening himself, he knocked on the heavy metal door.

"By the way, how do you open this?"

"Just ask the spirits to move it. The doors open inwards, in case you've forgotten." The boy added, backing away from the doors.

The taller boy gave an amused scoff, and stepped aside. As if on cue, the doors creaked open, revealing a bright and sunny pathway, leading through a small forest. Stretching his arms, Pally started down the path, chuckling lightly to himself as the vampire boy followed, like a little puppy following its master.

* * *

"Good afternoon, Lucy." Pally greeted, waving to a young woman with curly brown locks, clad in a navy blue dress, with a puffy white underskirt. The woman turned to face her customer, her bright blue eyes shining cheerfully as she recognized the face of her favorite modeling friend.

"Ahn~, good afternoon Pally~! Are you here to help me showcase some of my accessories again?" She asked hopefully, immediately gathering various rings and necklaces to later display on the blond beauty. Seeing her energetic request, Pally could not help but slither back, letting out a hesitant laugh.

"Unfortunately, today, I'm hoping you could help me find some nice clothes for this little fellow here."

He stepped aside, ushering out a timid little boy a little more than 2/3rds his height.

"H-Hello…" The boy whispered, desperately clutching onto the older male's shirt. His eyes darted frantically around the small store, noticing many colorful bands and gems in glass cases, displayed in a very orderly fashion. Necklaces in one area, bracelets next to it, various gems sorted via color, shape, and size, and small mirrors placed atop the cases here and there.

Noticing the little boy hiding behind her friend, Lucy clasped her hands together and introduced herself.

"My~, what an adorable little kid! My name is Lucy, it's nice to meet you~!"

"I-I am not a kid!" Chaser pouted, earning a light laugh from both humans.

"Of course not, my mistake~. What is your name then?" Lucy asked.

"Chaser. It's a p-pleasure to meet you, Miss Lucy…" The boy responded, still feeling a little queasy around the energetic store owner.

The young woman nodded firmly, her eyes quickly inspecting the boy's build and clothing choice.

"Okay then, let's get down to business. I assume you'll take care of the costs?" She asked, directing her gaze to Pally.

"As long as you don't charge me anything too crazy." The boy responded flatly.

"Perfect!" Lucy clapped her hands, beckoning the little boy to follow. "Come this way~. I may be an accessory lover, but I do know a thing or two about clothes~!"

Chaser glanced worriedly at his human companion.

"What's the matter? Suddenly became shy?" Pally asked cynically, noticing the boy's gaze.

"O-Of course not!" Chaser retorted. Breathing deeply to reassure himself, he released his grasp on the taller boy's clothes and followed after the cheerful store owner, glancing over his shoulder multiple times to confirm that the taller boy had not disappeared.

* * *

Pally gave a low whistle as the vampire boy stepped out of the dressing room.

"What do you think?" His brown-haired friend asked, confident of her choices.

The boy was dressed in dress shirt with vertically striped soft teal lines, a soft red, chocolate-lined vest on top, laced with transparent brown silk, revealing only a few inches of the center of the shirt. A small and cute red-plaid tie sat comfortably on his chest, a white cross design on the left, near the center, a golden button near the top-right edge. His sleeves were shoulder-less and spread out in a cone shape at the fingertips, lined with black lace. Atop of the sleeves were jagged-cut arm warmers of sorts with a small section cut out from the circular, laced bottom, a warm brown shade similar to the vest, lined with a soft red similar to the vest.

Despite being a boy, Chaser had donned a dark red plaid skirt that barely reached his knees, a simple brown belt clasped around his delicate waist. Upon closer inspection, the skirt had a large cut on its left side, revealing a pair of dark brown shorts underneath. A frilly lavender-white overskirt, with a more solid purple stripe at the end, slightly covered the left side of the skirt. A larger pink-shaded cloth, with excessively large carnation-pink frills covered the purple overskirt, as well as the right side of the plaid skirt.

His knee-high boots were of the same red shade as the vest, a thick brown stripe running straight through the middle, with much finer white stripes on each side. Small golden buttons lined themselves on the edges of the brown stripe, five on each side, with two belts crossing over each other on the outside edge of the large stripe. Attached to the bottom, outmost buttons were small pieces of white cloth, lined with a teal blue stripe, laced with chocolate-colored silk. At the top of the boots was a ring of white cloth – frilly at the top, bottom jagged and lined with a yet another brown stripe – tied by a sky blue ribbon, a small golden seal resting in the middle.

And to top things off, a small headband rested on the boy's head, its ends attached with a small, red-plaid, white-laced cloth, tied with a blue ribbon. Near the center of the headband, slightly to the left, was a small red top hat, chocolate-laced – a thin white stripe around the brim, and a thin, brown hat band decorated with multiple tiny golden buttons. Slightly to the right was a frilly white cloth surrounding a golden seal – embedded with a simple heart.

"Turn around, Chaser~. Let Pally see the back too~." Lucy instructed, making a spinning motion with her index finger.

The boy listened obediently, turning around to show off his backside. A small hole was near his nape, revealing his shoulder blades. Just below his nape, where the shirt ends, was another blue ribbon, its strands reaching down almost to his waist. From the back, the vest looked more like a chocolate-brown corset. A soft lavender stripe ran down the center, rosy pink stripes on each side, equaling to the size of the opening on the front of the vest. Two separate brown fabrics laid horizontally across the center like a strap, each pinned with golden buttons on both ends. The corset-like vest extended into two tails of the same brown shade, both lined with a soft golden thread. A puffy string of soft pink frills trailed down from the right, all the way to the boy's ankles, thinning like a Persian cat's tail. Upon closer inspection, this strand of fabric was connected to the pink overskirt.

Pally could not help but snicker at the sight. _'How utterly adorable.' _He mused to himself.

"It's… Very frilly." He finally managed to say, after a moment of silence.

"Isn't it nice though? This Lolita style isn't very popular, but I think Chaser dear was able to pull it off perfectly~!" Lucy cheered, complimenting herself on her innovative fashion sense.

Her blond friend smirked, barely able to contain his laughter.

"Yes, you look absolutely _lovely_, Chaser dear." He said with a sarcastic tone. "You look like a little girl heading off to a tea party with her dolls."

"Why thank you, benevolent _sister_. Though I'm sure you are just dying to join us." Chaser retaliated, turning around to grin victoriously back at his taller companion.

Pally gave an amused snort.

"Not really. Unlike you, I think I'm a bit too old to be playing with dolls." He smirked as he watched the smaller boy became flustered, attempting to think of a comeback without any success.

With a light laugh, Pally walked over to his vampire companion and pulled off the headband, ruffling his hair as he tossed it to his brown-haired friend.

"We'll take everything but the headband. It's a bit too much, sorry." He explained, earning a displeased look from the accessory shop owner.

"In that case, let me replace it with something – free of charge. Just give me one moment~." As she spoke, Lucy scurried around the shop, returning with a shiny, scarlet satin ribbon.

With a cheerful bounce in her step, she walked over to the little boy and gently pulled some of his front hair back, tying it in a small high ponytail with the large ribbon.

"There~!" She clasped her hands together. "Isn't that adorable?"

Chaser reached an arm up to feel the back of his head, his eyes narrowing unamused as he recognized the shape of the hair tie. He bit his lower lip, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. _'How humiliating…'_

Nearby, Pally raised an arm to cover his mouth, unable to hide the stupid grin that had appeared and refused to leave. As he began to laugh, he raised his free hand, gesturing a 'thumbs up' to his human friend.

"It's perfect!" He called out, breathing heavily in between laughs.

Lucy beamed at the compliment. She opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by the sound of a bell. She turned her attention towards the door, noticing a young woman walking in.

"Oh my, welcome~!" She turned to face her blond friend.

"I'll send you the bills later. Chaser's clothes are in that bag over there. Let me know if you need any more assistance, bye~!" And with those words, she scurried over to the door, greeting her new customer.

His lips still turned upwards in a smile, Pally grabbed the white bag nearby and started towards the door. He stopped to glance over his shoulder at the still-flustered boy.

"Come on. We're done here, so let's leave." As soon as the words left his mouth, the little boy quickly ran to the taller male, grabbing the hem of his skirt timidly.

Chuckling lightly to himself, Pally ruffled the boy's hair, being careful not to mess up the ribbon.

"Don't worry, you really do look adorable." He reassured, laughing again as he watched the boy's face turn a bright shade of red.

As the two left the store, Pally asked the boy a question, eyes glancing around the busy market streets.

"So what did you think of Lucy? Is she your special person?" Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the boy shake his head.

"I thought so…" He mumbled to himself, relieving a sigh afterwards.

"Well, we've still got half of the day left. Come on, I'll introduce you to some other female friends I've got."

Pally began to quicken his pace, slowing down when he felt a tug on the right side of his shirt. He glanced down at the small boy's flustered face.

"W-Wait up…" The boy called out.

"What's the matter? Afraid of getting lost?" The maiden-like boy teased.

"W-What—No way! I'm not a kid—"

"Yes, yes, I know." The taller boy droned cynically.

Chaser huffed in response, irritated by how easily the human made him lose his cool. Wanting to prove himself, he let go of his companion's shirt, only to have his hand grabbed.

"Don't worry. Just stay by my side and you won't get lost." Pally reassured, intertwining his fingers with the boy's left hand.

"…Thank you…" The boy muttered, feeling a slight tingle in the warmth of their connected hands.

* * *

Pally yawned, stretching his arms above his head. It was already the twelfth day of their search, and they had absolutely no success so far. He turned to face his vampire companion, feeling a mixture of emotions as he watched the small boy down a glass of unknown red liquid.

"You ready?" He called out.

The boy nodded in response, handing the glass off to an otherworldly spirit. He ran over to the taller boy, dressed in the same Lolita outfit as the previous days, minus the hair ribbon.

"Where are we going today?" He asked, his cerulean eyes brimming with innocent curiosity.

"We're going to one of the Ruby Knights' headquarters. I've already introduced you to all the women in Hamel I know, so we're going to finally ask them for some help. Plus, you can meet some of the female soldiers stationed there."

* * *

After a long process of waiting, the district leader presented himself to the blond duo.

"Pally?" The captain asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you've returned this early. Were you able to complete your task?"

Pally bowed, replying in a deadpan, but serious tone.

"Captain Penensio, the entire manor was empty, save for a few wandering spirits. I assume the target has moved to a new location?"

"I see…" The captain nodded firmly. His golden eyes darted to the young boy hiding beside his subordinate. "And who is this child you bring along with you?"

"He is a sacrifice sent from another village – Sander, so he says." The blond boy responded, hoping his lie was believable.

"Multiple sacrifices? I was not informed of this. Thank you for your report, Pally. Is there any other assistance I can offer you?"

"Two things, sir. The first, I request to see a list of living female knights within both Elrios and Aernas to hopefully gather some information on our target. The second…" Pally's voice trailed off. He cleared his throat, collecting himself before he continued.

"My second request is to ask for the assistance of a few knights to move my belongings to a new home."

His captain raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Oh? You're moving out of the dorms already? For security reasons, I'll need to know the location of your new residence."

"Er, that is…" The blond knight averted his gaze, answering with a slightly more hesitant tone. "As the owner has left and does not appear to be returning, I would like to claim the residence of our target…"

Silence. Then a sigh.

"…If you insist. Do take care of yourself, Pally – I do not wish to lose one of my finer knights. I'll send Jean and Marco to help you later in the afternoon. As for the portfolios, I'll send them to your new residence in a few days." Finishing off with firm nod, Penensio turned and exited, his grand crimson cape fluttering after his quick pace.

As the golden-eyed captain disappeared from sight, Pally turned to grin smugly at his vampire companion.

"And there you have it. This is obviously going to take a while, so I'm gonna room with you until you find that special person."

Ignoring the smaller boy's cries and complaints, Pally strode out of the building and into the sparring room, greeting the few soldiers sparring there.

"So Chaser, see anyone who could possibly be your special person?" He questioned, glancing around the plain cream-colored room.

"No…" The boy responded, slumping his shoulders dejectedly. _'At this rate, I'll never mature…'_

He flinched, feeling a hand stroke his head. Reflexively, he gazed upwards at his human companion.

"Don't worry, we'll find them." The knight reassured, as if he had read the little boy's mind. "Well, since we're done here, let's move onwards."

Retracting his arm, Pally turned around and briskly walked out of the training room, ushering the little boy with him.

As they walked down the long corridor, Chaser stole a glance at his human companion, marveling at the many 'faces' he had.

"You're surprisingly really good at lying. Judas would be proud." The boy commented, earning an amused scoff in response.

"Nowhere near as good as you, considering you've been deceiving people with your illusion magic for centuries."

Unable to come up with a response, the boy simply huffed and continued to walk in pouting silence, fully aware of the teasing smirk that had formed on the taller male's lips.

* * *

"You can leave them here, thanks again for your help." Pally said as a chestnut-brown haired knight placed down a heavy suitcase.

Straightening himself with a grunt, the knight, along with his fellow ash-brown haired soldier raised their right arm in a salute. Pally returned the salute, watching amusedly as the two scurried fearfully out of the manor and into the woods, the large double doors closing loudly after them.

"Okay Chaser, I need your shaman powers now~!" Pally called out with a teasing tone.

A pair of footsteps quickly alerted the blonde knight of the small child hurrying down the spiral stairs, clad in his usual black noble's suit but tailored to fit his real body. Nearing his human companion, the boy slowed down, his soft cheeks puffed out childishly.

"You can ask the spirits yourself, you know." The boy pouted.

"I know, but they seem to like you more than me." Pally responded with a laugh.

Stepping aside to lean on the wall, the blond knight watched as various colored flames flocked to the little boy, who directed them to the pile of suitcases and boxes. The boy began to smile, cheerfully conversing with his inhuman friends, and soon, Pally realized that a faint smile had sneaked up on his own lips. He closed his eyes and let out a quiet chuckle, amused that all his former malice for the vampire had suddenly disappeared in a flash. And now, he was even helping him. _'But the kid's far too innocent for me to kill him…' _He suddenly began to laugh, earning a strange look from the vampire boy and possibly even his spiritual friends.

"What is it?" Chaser asked hesitantly.

"Nothing, nothing." The blond knight replied, nonchalantly waving his hand. Seeing as there was only one small box left to move, he walked over to it and picked it up.

"I've got this one, thanks." Turning to face his vampire companion, he asked,

"So, where did the spirits put all my stuff?"

The boy raised a hand to his mouth, as if he had forgotten something.

"I didn't tell them a specific location, so they probably moved them to my room…"

Pally stared at the little boy in front of him, before erupting in laughter. The boy's real personality was such a contrast from the illusion-made vampire he first met. _'I'm surprised he didn't use his real body to charm the maidens who came before.' _He thought amusedly to himself.

"Well, I guess I'll stay in your room then, until I decide to move out."

"W-What?! No! Absolutely not! Why can't you just stay in the guest rooms like you've always had? I can ask the spirits to move your belongings again so…"

"Nah, I'd rather not bother them too much. Don't worry, I won't steal any of your plushies or anything."

With a light chuckle, Pally gently ruffled the boy's head, patting it twice before proceeding up the stairs. Chaser let out a childish whine in response, furrowing his brows slightly. He quickly matted down his hair before running after the taller male, hoping to persuade him to stay out of his personal quarters.

"I'm sure it's no trouble, and it won't take too long to move. The guest rooms are closer to the main entrance, too."

"Hmm~. But your room has the best view of the sunset~." The knight complained childishly, much to the annoyance of the smaller blonde.

"B-But… My bed isn't big enough for two people!"

"Your bed is big enough to fit almost five people!" Pally retaliated, laughing. "And plus, I was thinking of sleeping in the chair. I'm not rude enough to invade someone else's privacy you know."

"But you're sleeping in my room! That's already an invasion of my privacy!" The boy whined.

"Hey, nothing wrong with the owner of the house sleeping in the master bedroom."

"Since when did you become the master of this house?"

"Since today. You were there too, when Penensio gave me permission."

"But—"

"And plus," The knight stopped and turned to face the flustered boy. "You're still a minor. As your temporary guardian, I'll be taking full control until I leave, okay?"

He flashed a sweet smile at the red-faced boy. Stunned, the boy stared, before opening his mouth to speak.

"Ab—"

"Okay!" Pally finished for him. "See? Didn't that work out just fine?"

Chuckling to himself, Pally continued to stride down the long hallway, a little boy complaining loudly behind him.

* * *

Pally let out a long, exasperated sigh. Three weeks had passed without a single success. He had begun to wonder if his theory was correct. _'But to make the kid fall in love, and eventually marry this person…' _His chest suddenly tightened as he visualized the vampire boy, all grown up and living happily with a random woman. He furrowed his brows, surprised at his body's reaction. _'Am I… Growing possessive? Is this like reverse Stockholm syndrome?'_

Pushing the thoughts aside, he quickly wove through the busy crowds, his long hair fluttering everywhere, despite being tied up in a ponytail. His destination in sight, he walked towards a small and bland-looking café. Upon arrival, he realized that his right hand was empty. Eyes wide, he quickly glanced around, searching for a little boy in red Lolita clothing.

"Chaser? Where'd you go?"

Feeling a tug on his shirt, he glanced behind him, eyes meeting with frightened cerulean orbs.

"You…You suddenly let go of your hand…" Chaser muttered out, his eyes watering and on the verge of tears.

"Ahaha… Sorry about that, I got lost in thought." Pally responded, forcing an awkward smile. He had forgotten how the boy absolutely detested large crowds and noisy places.

Cooing the boy out from behind him, he reconnected their hands, giving a reassuring squeeze as he led the two inside the light-colored building.

"Hello, table for two please." The blond knight called out to a black haired waitress.

"Certainly, please follow me."

The two were lead to a small and dainty white marble table, with matching chairs, by a window, revealing bundles of pink and red wall flowers and a barren street, with the occasional passerby or two. Pulling out his chair, Pally sat down, watching as the smaller boy did the same. The black haired waitress handed the two a menu, before bowing and walking away.

"What do you want?" Pally asked his vampire companion, nonchalantly flipping the pages of the menu.

"I… Don't know…" Was all the boy could mutter out. He furrowed his brows as he flipped through the many pages, the words seeming foreign to him. Velderian Cheesecake? Raspberry coated Lemon Mousse? Sander special Coconut Milk Cream Pie? He knew what many of these words were, but placed together in a sentence like this… He heard a familiar laugh, and glanced up from the menu at his human companion.

"They're pastries. There's also pictures too, that show you what some of the sweets look like."

Pally picked up his own menu and flipped to a random page. He turned the menu around, showing the page to the little boy, and pointed to a picture of a pink and white cake with a red fruit on top.

"This is a 'Strawberry Cake'." He explained, pointing to the text beneath the picture.

The boy nodded, mouthing an 'Oh', listening intently to the taller boy's every word. He looked down at his own menu, noticing that the pastries all varied in shape, size, and color. _'How fascinating…' _The boy marveled, memorizing the looks of all the pictured sweets.

By the time the waitress arrived, Chaser had engraved the looks and names of his favorite sweets into his brain.

"Hi Pally! How have you been? Oh, this is rare. Not only do you have your hair tied up, but you also brought someone with you? Who's he?"

Chaser looked up from his menu and glanced at the new voice, a young girl in a classic maid uniform, her lilac hair tied into two curly pigtails high on her head.

"Just a friend." The blond knight replied flatly.

"Really? I was sure with your cynical personality, you wouldn't be able to make a single acquaintance without Elsword." The girl teased, earning a scoff from the blond male. She turned her attention to the smaller boy and smiled, waving her fingers in a greeting.

"Hi there! I'm Aisha, nice to meet you~!"

The boy simply nodded. The girl seemed very energetic – too energetic for his preferences – but he did like her unusual amethyst eyes, at the least.

"So have you decided what you want yet?" Pally called out, interrupting the boy's train of thought.

He looked down at his menu again, his face flushed as he recalled the list of numerous sweets he wanted to try. He didn't want to seem greedy, but his mind yearned to learn more about these human-made sweets.

"N-Not yet…" He mumbled, hiding his face with the menu.

Finding the boy's actions irresistibly adorable, Pally stifled back a laugh, though his lips were unable to hide his teasing smirk.

"Let's start off with two Hamel Specials then." He spoke calmly, unable to tear his eyes away from the flustered boy.

"Coming right up~!" The purplenette waitress responded, striding away with an upbeat bounce to her steps.

As the waitress disappeared from sight, Pally leaned his right arm on the table, chuckling lightly as the boy peeked his eyes out from the menu.

"Lemme guess – you looked through the menu and wanted to try all sorts of pastries, but were too embarrassed to say so?"

Chaser flinched, before slowly nodding his head, feeling his face flush even more. Hearing an all-too-familiar laugh, he slipped his head back underneath the menu, silently cursing his lack of confidence in his real body. _'If only he never saw my real body…' _He thought to himself. _'But he's been so nice to me…' _He immediately regretted his first thought, and began to sulk. Even though they were different races, the taller boy had treated him equally. It would be rude, especially for one of his caliber, to not acknowledge this.

Breathing deeply, Chaser peeked out from his menu, locking with the taller boy's own cerulean eyes. He quickly hid again, feeling his face heat up and his heartbeat increase, much like their first encounter…

He suddenly dropped his head unto the table and hid it under the menu, earning a surprised look from the blond knight.

"Chaser? You all right there?" Pally asked questionably. He was responded with a quiet, cat-like whine, causing the taller blond to begin giggling uncontrollably.

"Ah, the sherbets are here."

Chaser quickly raised his head, just in time to see the purple-haired waitress from before place a large sundae glass of blue and white ice in front of him.

"Two Hamel Specials served right up! Enjoy~!" As quickly as she arrived, the waitress left for another table.

Chaser stared at the sweet in front of him. The blue and white colored ice alternated, creating a horizontally striped pattern from the bottom of the glass. The top was covered with frozen whipped cream, colorful sprinkles, and various red fruit arranged in a small design. A metal dessert spoon was placed in the ice, not too far away from where the whip cream ended.

"It's shaved ice." Pally explained, noticing the look of confusion on the boy's face. "It's also a type of sweet, just not a baked sweet."

He pulled the spoon out and scooped out a chuck of the blue ice, a look of disdain appearing on his face as he tasted the ice.

"Ugh, why's it so sweet today?" The little boy heard him mumble.

Cautiously, Chaser mimicked the human boy's actions, pulling the spoon out, scooping up a piece of the blue ice, and placing the spoon in his mouth. His face lit up as a cold rush entered his mouth, followed by a wave of foreign sweetness. Eagerly, he scooped a piece of the white ice and tasted it too. The ice was a different flavor, heavily reminding him of the vanilla cookies his mother often made. He smiled as a wave of nostalgia overcame his mind.

"Do you like it?"

The boy snapped out of his trance and faced his human companion. He nodded his head cheerfully, spoon still in mouth. The taller boy laughed.

"That's good." He smiled. "Eat as much as you'd like."

"Thank you, Pally." The boy replied, returning the smile before diving into his new favorite dessert.

The blond knight stared at the child before him, slightly surprised. _'This is the first time he didn't call me Mister or Miss Pally…'_ Perhaps they were growing fonder of each other? _'That might be nice…' _He closed his eyes and exhaled sharply, his lips unconsciously forming a smile. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that the boy had already almost finished the sherbet, save for the fruits. He laughed.

"You should eat the fruits too, or else you won't grow any taller." He teased.

With a childish huff, Chaser picked up a raspberry with his spoon and ate it. It was cold and sweet, much like the ice, but it was a different kind of sweet. And it certainly did not melt in his mouth like the ice. It was still quite tasty though.

The boy glanced up, noticing that his human companion was transferring the fruits over to his sherbet.

"I'm already tall enough, so you should quickly catch up okay?" Pally reached over the table and ruffled the boy's head, much to his annoyance.

"Just wait, once I find my special person, I'll grow three heads taller than you!" The boy retorted, pouting childishly despite his ancient age.

"If you say so." Pally jeered, earning an irritated whine from the smaller boy.

No longer interested in his own iced sweet, Pally leaned on his left arm, gazing absent-mindedly at the little boy cheerfully eating his sherbet. As the boy finished up, Pally pushed his cup towards his vampire companion.

"Here, you can have mine. It's a little too sweet for my tastes."

"A-Are you sure?" The boy asked timidly, feeling shamefully gluttonous.

"Of course. I said you could eat as much as you'd like, didn't I?" Pally responded, flashing a quick but reassuring smile.

"Thank you then…"

"By the way," Pally started, continuing in a quieter voice. "You're a vampire right? How come I've never seen you drink from a human?"

The boy tilted his head innocently.

"We eat meat every night at dinner, don't we? I can get the nutrients from animal blood too. And plus, Father left behind a ton of blood pouches from all sorts of creatures."

"Is that so... That's good then, that I don't have to worry about you feeding on my blood while I sleep." The knight joked, letting out a light laugh.

The boy lowered his gaze, choosing his following words carefully.

"Even… Even if I did need human blood, I wouldn't drink yours. You're too sweet, Pally." The boy responded, scooping a large chunk of ice into his mouth.

The taller boy raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I thought you liked sweet things though?"

"I do, but…" Chaser trailed off, feeling heat creep to his face. "No, nevermind."

"Huh… Strange kid, you are." Pally muttered to himself.

"Hmm?"

"No, nothing."

Ordering a Strawberry Cake for himself, Pally watched as the little boy devoured plate after plate of various sweets, pausing after each finished treat as if he were mentally ranking it in terms of favorites. As the boy finished his third Hamel Special, he glanced up at his human companion, noticing that he had placed the strawberry aside.

"Do you not like strawberries?" He asked curiously.

"No, I do." The taller boy responded, finishing up his cake. "But you seem to like them more so," He stabbed his fork into the strawberry, picking it up, and pointed it at his vampire companion.

"Say 'ah~'."

The little boy pouted, feeling heat rise to his face. It was true he did quite like strawberries, but to be treated in such an embarrassing manner… …Alas, the temptation of the perfectly ripe strawberry was just too great. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

"Ah…"

With a soft chuckle, Pally maneuvered his fork into the boy's mouth, being careful not to poke or hurt him. Retracting his arm, he watched in amusement as the boy raised his arms, covering his cherry-red face with his sleeves, albeit with little success.

"Are you full yet?" He asked.

The boy nodded silently.

"Alright, then let's keep searching."

Raising his arm to call for the bill, Pally stole a glance at the flustered boy. Despite claiming to be three-hundred years old, the boy still looked and acted like an innocent young child. _'An utterly adorable, innocent young child…'_

* * *

Pally turned the doorknob, cussing under his breath as he realized that the boy had locked him out – for the seventh time that morning. He rasped his knuckles on the door.

"Hey, Chaser! Open the door!" He yelled, earning a muffled response.

"No! Don't come in!"

He sighed, raising a hand to his temples. Was the boy changing? No, there were far too many footsteps for that to be the case. He knew the boy could become quite shy, but this was just atrocious.

"Look, Chaser. I'm not in a very good mood right now, so open the door in three seconds or I'm busting it down!" He commanded, his voice filling with venom with every word.

He crossed his arms, being careful not to crumble up the portfolios he held in his left hand.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

As the blond knight stepped back to ram into the door, the door was opened just a crack, large enough for a little boy to poke his head through, his innocent blue eyes absolutely terrified.

"P-Please don't come in…" The boy begged, his eyes beginning to water.

Pally felt his chest tighten, and immediately regretted his harsh tone. He placed a hand on his temples, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

"Chaser, I'm sorry, I really am, but this is the seventh time this morning that you've locked me out. Just what is it that's troubling you so much?" He questioned, breathing deeply to calm himself.

The boy looked down at the ground, though he did not response.

Pally sighed again.

"Step aside Chaser."

The boy listened obediently, not wanting to get on the human's bad side. Pally opened the door and stepped inside the large bedroom, noticing nothing that could've made the little boy so secretive. …Except for the obvious increase in stuffed animals. He could've sworn there were at least a hundred more. He let out another sigh.

"Chaser, don't tell me you're still embarrassed about liking stuffed animals?" He asked, glancing around the colorful and fluffy room.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy nod slowly and begin fidgeting with his clothes. Yet another sigh. He turned to face his vampire companion and patted his head.

"Look Chaser, I've told you many times – there's nothing to be ashamed of. You like stuffed animals? Okay, that's cool. Hell, I even find it kinda cute. So don't worry about it, all right?"

The boy nodded, though he was still fidgety.

"I know but… …Hey Pally? What kind of person do you like? Someone who's strong and brave right?"

The blond knight retracted his arm and stared, unsure of how to respond to the sudden question.

"Well, I never thought about it much… …But yeah, I guess."

The boy's shoulders seemed to fall.

"But not someone who's very strong and brave." Pally continued, earning a surprised look from the little boy.

"I want to protect them, and be appreciated, and loved. Someone who's too strong or brave won't need my protection or adoration." He explained, smiling as he watched the boy intake every word.

"You know, if you were a bit taller, I think you'd be my ideal person." He joked. He let out a laugh, but hearing nothing but silence from the boy, closed his mouth.

"So… If I was taller, would you marry me?" Chaser spoke slowly, with a regretfully hopeful tone. Gathering all his courage, he dared to sneak a glance at his human companion, seeing his eyes wide with shock.

"I-Is this… What… I…" The blond knight took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself without success.

"…Here's a profile of all the currently alive female Ruby Knights." He continued coldly, tossing the portfolio in front of the boy, all while avoiding eye contact. "Please look the list over and let me know if you find your special person."

Without another word, Pally quickly exited the room, his heart pounding in his ears. Why had the boy suddenly asked such a question? And more importantly… …What was his answer?

Before he knew it, he had arrived in the cream-walled lounge room. As if the spirits had been expecting him, a cup of freshly brewed tea was placed on the glass coffee table, the surrounding four velvet sofas looking very inviting to the young boy. But for some odd reason, today, right now, he could not relax.

Pally sat down on the sofa closest to the door, tilting his head back, closing his eyes, and raising a hand to his temples. He let out an exasperated sigh. Why now, all of a sudden?

The scene replayed in his head – the boy's timid words, his constant unusual fidgetiness, and his large blue eyes that gazed at him longingly…

"When did this happen…?" He mumbled to himself.

Hearing a pair of approaching footsteps, Pally hastily stood up and faced the newcomer. The boy had wrapped his arms around a pink rabbit almost half his size, the portfolio of female Ruby Knights clenched tightly in his hands.

Chaser walked forwards, handing the thick portfolio back to his human companion.

"…There was no one." He spoke softly, almost regretfully.

As the knight reclaimed the folder, Chaser took a step back, hiding his face in the head of the plush rabbit. Pally stared, wanting to comfort the boy, but unsure of how to without making things any more awkward.

"Umm, I'm sorry about earlier…" The boy poked his head out, though his eyes remained on the ground. "But I must know your answer."

As the words left his mouth, Chaser raised his head, meeting with the cerulean eyes of his beloved human companion. He felt his face flush with heat, but did not avert his gaze.

Pally, however, quickly darted his eyes away. He had not yet thought up a response… He stole a glance at the small boy, feeling an overpowering rush to embrace him. But, to live with this person, for the rest of their lives… …Was he committed? He let out a sigh. _'Yes… I've made my choice…'_

"My response…" The little boy perked his ears, his rapid heartbeat denying his wish of not wanting to raise any false hopes.

"My response," the blond knight repeated, "…Is no, I would not."

The air seemed to crash down on the little boy's heart. Even though he was expecting a rejection, the reality of it was far more bitter than he had imagined. He hung his head, tears threatening to fall out of his eyes.

"I… I see…" He choked out, unable to continue speaking.

"Even if you were taller," Pally continued speaking, "I wouldn't marry you, because…"

Placing the portfolio on the glass table, he walked over to the desolate boy, cupping his tear-stained face in his hands.

"Because, if I could…" He looked away, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before reconnecting their gaze. "…I would marry you right now." He smiled, planting a soft, quick kiss on the boy's rosy lips.

The vampire boy stared in shock, his hands releasing the stuffed rabbit from his grip. As a flurry of emotions clashed in his mind, he responded in the one way he could – embracing his human lover. He buried his face in the taller male's chest, his rising body heat and pounding heartbeat driving his mind to insanity. He then suddenly pulled away.

"Are you sure?" He asked, breathing heavily. "Are you really, really sure?"

"I'm really, really sure." Pally responded, gingerly stroking the boy's soft head. "I don't know when or how but… …I seem to have fallen in love with you, Chaser."

"I… I love you too Pally! A lot, a lot! I think… …Maybe even more than I love Mother and Father…"

The little boy pulled himself closer to his human lover. He had never felt this euphoric before in his 317 years of life. His lips unconsciously rose upwards in a bright smile as he continued to snuggle even closer. The warmth of the body that embraced him, the gentle fingers that danced through his hair, and this slowly descending heartbeat… …Who did it belong to? The boy did not know, and at that very moment, he really did not care.

_'This beautiful person has entrusted their life to me, and I, too, would like to become theirs, and only theirs to love.'_

* * *

Penensio looked at the letter in his hands, reading it over for the umpteenth time.

"This is certainly very strange…" He muttered, a hand placed on his chin in thought.

The letter, written by Chaser, formally explained the misunderstanding between his family and Hamel. It had excluded many important details, but not too much as to make the letter unbelievable.

"I suppose the problem is solved now, Captain Penensio?" A blond knight asked, his long hair let down on the rare occasion.

"Hmm, yes, I suppose. And, you are now the current heir's betroth?" The golden-eyed captain questioned, glancing at one of his best knights.

The blond boy simply nodded, smiling cheerfully.

"We have yet to decide the date of the wedding, but we would be honored if you would attend."

"Why… Ahem. It would be… …rude not to. I thank you for inviting me." The captain replied hesitantly, still unsure of how to make of the whole deal.

"Not a problem. If that is everything, I shall take my leave for the day."

"Of course, thank you for your hard work, Pally." Penensio nodded firmly, to which the blond knight responded with a formal salute.

Pally soon left the Ruby Knights' headquarters, after changing into his favorite white noble's suit – a personal gift from his beloved, you could say. As he strode down the busy market streets, he noticed a small stuffed bear displayed in a window. _'Huh, how cute. Chaser might like this…' _With this thought in mind, the blond knight entered the store, leaving shortly after with a bright present box tucked under his arm.

As he approached the dark castle-like manor, Pally began to quicken his pace, eager to see his beloved after a long day. He climbed up the stone stairway, taking two steps at a time, and raised his hand to knock on the large double door. Just as his knuckles made contact with the metal, the doors swung open inwards, earning a light laugh from the blond knight.

"Thanks as always." He called out, smiling as he watched the more visible flame-like spirits flicker cheerfully.

The spirits then began to gather around the young boy, as if leading him somewhere. Trusting his intuition, Pally followed the line of spirits, arriving at the lounge room. The door was opened, and the boy, ushered in.

"Is there something in here?" He wondered aloud, though he received no answer.

Stepping inside the lounge room, Pally had to shield his eyes as the spirits proceeded to light the chandelier, brightening up the room immensely.

"Oh, you're back?"

As his eyes adjusted, Pally noticed the young boy standing not too far away from him. It had only been two months since they proposed to each other, but the boy had matured so much – both physically and mentally. His creamy blond hair was spiky and cut short, save for a thin strand near his nape – tied into a ponytail with a blue hair elastic. He wore his usual black noble's suit, though he had discarded the cape. The gem resting in his brooch had lightened to a clear sky color, though the identity of the gem still remained a secret to the blond knight. He had grown taller, too, now being only a few inches shorter than his human lover. Pally smiled.

"I'm back." He called out, walking closer to plant a kiss on the vampire boy's cheek.

"Welcome back Pally." The boy responded, his cheeks now tinged a rosy red.

"What's that you've got there?" He asked, his eyes gesturing to the colorfully wrapped box in his lover's arms.

Kneeling down, Pally pulled out the present and offered it to his lover.

"For you, my love." He cooed, earning a strange look from the vampire boy.

"What the heck…" Chaser murmured, stifling back a laugh.

Cautiously, he took the lid off, eyes widening as he pulled out the brown bear inside. _'How cute…'_

"Do you like it?" The taller boy asked, receiving a childish huff in reply.

"I-I'm not a kid anymore…"

Pally laughed, standing back up.

"You didn't answer my question – do you like it?"

"…I like it." The boy responded, his voice barely above a whisper.

He tossed the box onto the table and hugged the bear, feeling his face flush. It was a simple gift, but it left a deep impact on the boy's heart.

"Ah."

Chaser suddenly placed the bear down on one of the sofas and beckoned to a nearby spirit, whispering something to them. As the spirit left, he pulled out a simple and thin silver necklace, a dark red gem hanging as a charm. He handed the necklace to his beloved.

"Put this on." He ordered, urging the taller boy to hurry.

"What's this?" The blond knight questioned, fingering the gem.

"The elders approved of my request." The boy replied vaguely. He reached into his shirt collar and pulled out a matching necklace, showing it off proudly. "See, I got one too!"

"Why, thank you then." Pally smiled, assuming it was the vampire equivalent of an engagement ring.

A spirit suddenly appeared, carrying a glass of unknown red liquid. Thanking the spirit, Chaser took ahold of the glass and offered it to the taller boy.

"Please drink this."

Pally raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but took the glass, downing the liquid quickly. As he returned the glass to a nearby spirit, a sudden jolt of electricity ran through his body. He bent over in pain, breathing heavily as beads of sweat began to form on his face. Unable to withstand his own weight, he collapsed on the floor, forcing himself on his knees and elbows. He glanced at his beloved, whom was practically beaming at the sight. What was in the drink? Poison? He could not believe that his own lover would try to kill him, but before he could even open his mouth to speak, the pain instantly dispersed. His body returned to normal, causing the blond knight to stop and wonder – what exactly was that red liquid?

As if the boy had read his mind, Chaser explained, offering his hand.

"That was my blood, for the ritual." Pally straightened himself and stared at the vampire boy, his cerulean eyes reflecting a mixture of horror and confusion. The boy laughed, much to his distress.

"Don't worry! My blood is necessary to activate these necklaces. They're encrypted with an ancient seal, tying the two wearers' lives together – their life expectancy is an average of the two, and when one dies, the other does too. With this, I won't have to worry about you leaving me all alone…"

Pally nodded his head understandingly. _'It must be terribly upsetting, outliving your loved one by many years…' _He pulled his lover closer, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's delicate waist in a loose embrace.

"…So that means, with this ritual finished, you can become eternally mine?" Pally asked, gently brushing the boy's hair with his fingers.

Chaser raised his head, locking blue eyes with blue eyes, and smiled.

"I thought I was already yours?" He asked teasingly, earning a soft chuckle in reply.

"In that case, I too, can now become eternally yours." Pally replied, leaning in to lock their lips in a tender kiss.

* * *

**~ Author's Notes ~**

Edit: Went back and fixed some stuff, added in a few new sentences or two, and made my heart explode once more as I visualized fluffy moments with IP and DC while editing. /shot

Requested by: Anon reader "asdfgdfhjg", myself, sOdAPopgrl133 (kinda) and a bunch of other people who are still too shy to admit their adoration for IPxDC. /shot

Anyhow, this oneshot was... ...Favoritism at its finest. /shot

But I do think I did pretty well~. Now if only all my other ideas were this developed... /shot

The later half of this oneshot was kinda rushed, since I wanted to upload this before I left on my trip. If you find any grammatical mistakes, please do let me know, and I will correct them after I return.

As always, thank you for reading this far, and I hope you enjoyed the story~! Feedback of any sorts is always welcome. And, let's see... Next oneshot will be ISxCN, let's see how that goes... /shot


	5. Grace Fairy, Shadow Incubus (ISxCN)

**~ Grace Fairy, Shadow Incubus ~**

* * *

_Elsword – Infinity Sword_

_Eve – Code Nemesis_

_Chung – Iron Paladin_

_Raven – Reckless Fist_

_Aisha – Elemental Master_

* * *

Murmurs erupted throughout the hall as eyes caught glimpse of the foreign silver-haired beauty, clad in the simple uniform of Velder Academy. She was clearly a new student, but a transfer this early in the semester? More whispers arose from the chatty students lingering the hallway.

The girl merely ignored the voices, weaving her way down the crowded hallways as the words of her father repeated in her mind. _'Remember Eve, you are representing the family of Nasodia – do nothing that will bring shame or unwanted attention to yourself.'_

The girl took a deep breath. One might expect the heir to such a large and famous company to be loud and arrogant, but Eve was really quite the opposite. Well, almost. She had no doubt of her abilities – one could say she was far too proud, really – but when it came to social interactions… …The problem laid in that fact that she was, in all simplicity, not interested. At all.

She was suddenly stopped by a redheaded boy walking up to her, his hand raised in a carefree wave.

"Hey there – you new here?"

Eve quickly scanned her golden eyes over the boy – he appeared well built, and was only taller than her by perhaps 20 centimeters. He wore the male uniform of Velder Academy – consisting of short sleeved, white dress shirt topped by a light beige vest, simple navy blue pants and white sneakers. His hair was spiked and parted to the right and, like his sharp eyes, was a curious shade of crimson, though there was an odd gathering of black around his left ear. On his left earlobe was a simple but beautifully crafted earring, though his right ear remained bare. His looks suggested that of a common school rebel, though his tone and orderliness indicated otherwise.

Eve raised her head, meeting with the boy's crimson eyes, and tossed back a strand of luscious silver hair.

"I am, as a matter of fact. However, I am quite occupied at this moment. Please excuse me."

Giving a firm and polite nod, Eve stepped around the boy and quickly strode away. From behind, she heard multiple voices both complimenting and consoling the redheaded boy.

The flirty type, she deducted. Or he was sent on a dare from one of those punishment games that commoners often play. She closed her eyes, clearing her thoughts. He was a stranger; she must not pay too much attention to her. Opening her eyes, she quickened her pace, eager to arrive at the principal's office and away from the endless voices surrounding her.

* * *

"…And here is an agenda, containing a map of the school on pages 3 to 6."

Handing a small notebook to the silver-haired girl, the principal gave a bright smile, though multiple bags were clearly visible under her large blue eyes.

"Please let me, or any other staff administrator know if you have any other questions or concerns."

"Thank you, Miss Ariel."

Eve bowed politely, taking ahold of the notebook as well as the other student necessities the young blonde woman gave her. She reached a hand to her neck, grabbing two small charms that hung on a silver chain – one white creature, looking much like a robotic rabbit; one black creature, resembling that of a rhinoceros but with three large horns. She pushed a small button on their backs and almost instantly, the two charms enlarged to almost five times their original size. The robotic charms hovered in midair near the girl, their mouths open wide as they patiently waited for the girl to place her belongings inside them.

With all her supplies carefully packed away – save for her schedule and agenda – Eve patted their heads, their mouths closing and disappearing into thin lines. With a soft "thank you", the two creatures shrunk back to their original sizes, hovering above the girl's open hand for a brief second before falling and shutting off. After reattaching her charms to her necklace, Eve gave another short bow and quickly left the simple office.

Stepping out into the noisy halls once more, Eve began to worry slightly. Even though she was quite confident of her family's advanced technologies, her charms were merely prototypes, still in the alpha testing stage. She hoped that a malfunction would not occur, causing her to lose all her belongings.

Opening her agenda to the map, Eve glanced back and forth between her class list and the blueprint, her mind quickly forming the quickest paths to and from each classroom. She glanced at her watch – 8:20, ten minutes before first period – math.

A sigh escaped from her dainty lips. Though she excelled at numerical calculations, the little heiress did not enjoy starting the mornings with complicated formulas and patterns.

_'No matter. Even though I am here for only a few weeks, I will not allow myself to slack off for one minute, for I am Eve of the imperial Nasodia family. Eve: Set destination to room 130 – math with Mr. Adams.'_

Straightening herself, she activated her prototype charms once more and placed the map and paper in their mouths, shutting them off as she quickly strode to classroom 130.

* * *

"Uh, so class, this is our new classmate…" The middle-aged teacher trailed off, noticing that none of the students were even bothering to pay attention.

With a quiet but clearly irritated sigh, Eve cleared her throat and began introducing herself, making absolutely sure that her voice could be heard over the endless chatter of her peers.

"Good morning. My name is Eve, Eve Nasodia. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, everyone."

She bowed, hearing her family name spread as a wave over her twenty-or-so classmates. More baseless rumors, though that was to be expected…

"…And there you have it. I hope you will welcome Miss Eve with open arms." Mr. Adams finished. "As for your seat…"

He quickly glanced around the room, noticing an empty seat in the third row, on the very right end.

"Hmm, Miss Aisha appears to be away today, how rare… For today, Miss Eve, please sit in that seat beside Elsword – the boy with spiky red hair." The teacher pointed to the empty desk, a familiar-looking redhead waving his arms cheerfully beside it.

Eve nodded her head firmly before striding over to the desk, pulling the seat out and sitting down as her neighbor greeted her once more.

"Heya there. The name's Elsword, nice to meetcha again." The boy flashed a bright smile, extending his hand in a handshake.

"Likewise." Eve replied flatly, returning the handshake.

"Now then, class, please take out your textbooks and turn to page uh, 327." Mr. Adams murmured, his voice barely audible to the entire class. "Miss Eve, please share with someone for today."

Feeling slightly perplexed, Eve eyed her surroundings, just in time to see a certain redhead pull his chair over. He plopped a heavy textbook on her desk, flashing a quick, cheeky grin.

"Thank you…" Eve muttered, slightly surprised by the boy's actions.

"No problem. This is Aisha's anyways, but she's got a million more so I don't bother returning it." The boy named Elsword replied, laughing. "Plus, I'll be sleeping through this period so in return, make sure Adams doesn't find out okay?" He added, raising a finger to his lips in a mischievous act of secrecy.

Eve simply nodded, unsure of how to respond to such an… …Unusual request. Having attended private schools all her life, the little heiress clearly did not know much about the nature of the middle-class. And, perhaps she was at fault too, for never being interested enough to know.

Time passed quickly as the shaggy-haired teacher droned on about the d'Alembert sequence, completed used to having the attention of only a handful of students – Elsword not being one of them.

Eve had tuned herself out early on, having already learned about the sequence many years ago when her father took her to a famous casino. She stole a glance at the redhead next to her, noticing that he had hidden his sleeping face behind the standing textbook.

Noticing a trail of drool on his chin, she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a white, silk-lined handkerchief. Making sure not to wake the slumbering boy, she gently wiped his lips, reminding herself to wash the handkerchief later as she tucked it away.

Beginning to feel somewhat bored, Eve pulled off the white rabbit-like charm and pulled out a notebook and mechanical pencil, earning looks of awe from only a couple of attentive students. With the dull voice of her teacher in the background, Eve flipped the notebook open to a random page and began to doodle. By the time the bell rang for second period, she had filled up two pages – front and back – with meaningless flowers and adorable little pixies.

As her classmates quickly stormed out of the room, Eve too, hastily packed up her belongings. Standing up, she gently shook the sleeping redhead, becoming frustrated as the boy continued to sleep without even a stir. She had approximately four minutes until her next class, and she did not want to be late. With no other options coming to mind, she tugged on the boy's back collar, pulling him back into his chair, his head leaning lazily over the top of the plastic seat. Bracing herself, she raised her pale right hand up and quickly swung it down, wincing slightly as her delicate hand made contact with skin.

The boy immediately stumbled back, letting out a pained cry. Noticing the figure in front of him, he glared, rubbing his red cheek soothingly.

"What the hell was that for?!" Elsword demanded, his cheek stinging with pain. For such a fragile appearance, the girl's slap had hurt. A lot.

"You appeared to have lost great consciousness. Therefore, I decided to take extreme measures to assure that you would awake before second period starts." The girl replied with a deadpan tone, earning an irritated groan from the taller boy.

"Still, that really hurt…" She heard the boy mumble.

Feeling slightly guilty for her rash actions, Eve quickly turned away.

"I will be heading off to my next destination then. Thank you for your assistance this morning."

And with nothing else to say, she briskly strode out of the classroom.

* * *

The sound of the bell ringing for lunch reverberated throughout the school, causing the students to dash towards the cafeteria like mad cows. In a matter of seconds, Eve's entire class was empty – even the teacher had fled quite quickly.

Packing her belongings away, Eve stood up and stretched her arms, letting out a yawn. Though it had only been a little more than two hours since she arrived, the little heiress was already feeling quite exhausted. Or, to be more specific, quite bored.

With a tired huff, she pulled out her agenda and, map in hand, strode off to the cafeteria.

Upon arrival, Eve quickly eyed the large room, taking in all the bland details. Large gray-marble tables were strewn all over the room, lined with multiple elegantly designed white-metal chairs with leather seating. Not too far from the hallway doors was a simple white door leading to the main kitchen, where food or drink could be purchased for those who did not bring their own or wanted a little more.

_'As expected of a famous academy.' _Eve thought to herself, pleased at the looks of the orderly room. Although it could not compare to the cafeterias of the private schools she attended before. Having brought her own lunch today, Eve walked over to an empty table, pulling her seat out as a familiar voice called out to her.

"Hey Eve! Over here!"

She turned to face the voice, its redheaded owner waving his arms recklessly at a crowded table nearby. Deciding to ignore the boy, Eve sat down, only to hear her classmate's voice call out to her once more.

"Heeeeeeeeey! Eeeeeeveeee! Over heeeeeere!"

The little heiress closed her eyes, raising a hand to her temples. _'No, contain yourself. There is no need to become irritated with such minor actions.'_

"Eeeeeeveeeee! Heeeey! Caaaan youuu hear meeeeee?"

With an irritated sigh, Eve stood up and hastily strode over to the redheaded boy, leaning over the table as she struck her open palm across his face.

"What a nuisance! You will do well to mind your tone!" She hissed, not even caring about the bewildered expressions of the boy's companions surrounding her.

Elsword simply let out a meek laugh, raising a hand to caress his poor cheek. Two slaps in a little more than two hours. Clearly, things weren't going in his favor.

"At least you finally got over here." He grinned victoriously. "Come on, sit down!"

With a defeated sigh, Eve pulled out an empty seat across from the redhead and sat down. She crossed a leg over the other and tossed back her hair, folding her arms afterwards.

"What is your reason for calling me over?" She asked, her voice giving away the slightest hint of annoyance.

"For company! Duh." The boy replied with a matter-of-fact tone. "It's lonely having to sit by yourself right?"

The silver-haired girl looked down, unsure of how to answer. Seeing as she had no response, Elsword decided to change topics.

"By the way, guys, this is Eve. Eve, these are my friends. They're all pretty cool guys. Except for Chung – he's a cool girl." He snickered, gesturing to a young boy with long creamy-blond hair beside him.

"Excuse me?" The boy named Chung questioned, a venomous aura emitting from behind his sweet smile.

Elsword let out a light chuckle, waving his hand nonchalantly at the blond boy. He then turned his attention to his new, silver-haired companion.

"So what do you have for lunch today?"

In response, the little heiress activated her black charm, earning many looks of envy as steamy, fresh plates of various dishes were extracted from the robot's mouth.

"Fish fillet with cream corn sauce, accompanied by honey-spiced Darjeeling tea and cream-filled brioches." The little heiress listed, pulling out a silver fork and spare handkerchief.

Elsword glanced at his own bland sandwich glumly before tossing it aside.

"Say…" He started, leaning his arm on the marble table. "How about we make a little deal – a part of your lunch for a kiss from me?"

Eve scoffed.

"A kiss? What is the merit of that?" She replied coldly, earning a chorus of chaotic laughter from the redhead's companions.

"Would you look at that! A girl actually rejected a kiss from Elsword!" A brown-haired boy barked out, howling in laughter.

"Oh shut up! Said redhead retorted, grumbling as he reluctantly picked up his sandwich.

He glanced at his blond friend, watching curiously as the boy cautiously opened and inspected his lunch.

"What's the matter Chung? Embarrassed about having a fancy lunch too, rich boy?" Elsword teased, earning a silencing glare in return.

"Of course not." The boy replied with an unamused scoff. "Just, today, my fiancé deci—"

"Fiancé?!"

The blond boy flinched at the unexpected response, almost dropping his lunch box.

"Y-Yeah… What about it?" He asked slowly, observing the shocked expressions on all his male companions.

"Dude!" Elsword exclaimed, dropping his sandwich and slamming his hands on the table. "Since when did you get a fiancé?!"

Chung raised an eyebrow in confusion, completely unfazed by the boy's exaggerated motions.

"Since a while ago. Didn't I tell you?"

"Never! What's she like?" A fellow blond inquired, more than curious about his friend's love life.

"Well, um…" Chung stood up and slowly backed away, preparing for a mad dash away from the pestering boys.

Noticing his hesitation, Elsword patted the boy's back, seating him back down.

"Hey, no running away now Seiker boy!"

"Seiker?"

The air suddenly turned serious as the silver-haired heiress repeated the name of her family's rivals.

"Seiker as in 'Seiker Corps.'?" She wondered aloud, placing her fork down on her half-eaten plate of fish.

The blond boy cleared his throat, nodding his head slowly in response.

"Yes, I am Chung Seiker, heir to Seiker Electronics. And you are…?"

"Eve Nasodia, of the Nasod Intelligence Corporations." The girl replied flatly, tossing back a loose lock of silver hair. "This is an interesting find. I was unaware that the Seiker heir was engaged…" She trailed off, finishing with a devious smirk.

The blond heir suddenly became defensive, his cerulean eyes gazing coldly at the silver-haired girl.

"Miss Eve, I do not wish to create a negative bond between our families, but do know that I will not hesitate to hurt you if you have any intentions of harming my beloved."

Eve scoffed, amused by the boy's response.

"Do not worry Mister Chung. I have absolutely zero interest in your private life, unlike your male companions here." She replied, eyeing the whispering students around the table. Though she could not comprehend most of their sentences, she heard the names of 'Nasodia' and 'Seiker' being thrown around amidst the noise.

"…Hey, nothing wrong with being curious." A certain redhead called out, silencing the male students.

He clasped his hands nonchalantly behind his head and turned to face the now tense blond heir, and smirked.

"So, Chungy boy, mind telling us about your wifey? Or do we have to strangle the info out of you?"

"Please don't call me that Elsword…" The boy sighed, easing back into his seat.

"Stop avoiding the question, Chungy boy." One of the more silent boys teased, kicking his feet onto the table.

"Not you too Raven…" Chung whined, raising a hand to his temples.

"To be honest, I'm quite interested in this beloved of yours too. Please, continue." Eve added in, taking a sip of her orange-colored tea.

The blond boy gave an exasperated groan, sliding his head onto the table and covering it with his arms. His spiky redheaded friend began poking him, determined to learn more about a possible embarrassment tool.

"Hey, hey, come on Chungy boy! Don't be like that~." A boy with a fiery red ponytail called out, much to the engaged boy's annoyance.

"I won't tell you if you guys keep calling me that." Chung huffed, lifting his head to glare half-heartedly at his friends, earning a chorus of "aww"s in return. He sighed again.

"Fine, fine. Let's see, she's the same age as I and is just a little shorter than me. She's really sweet and polite, but can become really scary when angered." He let out a chuckle, recalling an amusing memory.

"And what about her looks?" The older boy named Raven inquired, joining in the assault of questions.

"On a scale of one to ten, ten being flaming sexy, how hot is she?"

"What's she like? Is she younger or older than you?"

"More importantly, how good is she in bed?"

"Ooh~, did you two get at it yet?"

Two of the boys began kissing the air around each other and making strange sucking noises, imitating a pair of flamboyant lovers. The whole table erupted in laughter, earning a few curious glances from students nearby. Chung merely huffed, turning away to hide his vibrant red face.

"I-I'm not… I won't answer those sorts of questions." He muttered, earning a second round of dismay from his immature companions.

"Come on, please?" Elsword cooed, wrapping an arm around his flustered friend. "At least tell us how she looks."

"How big are her 'melons'?"

"Are they bigger than Rena's?" A black-haired boy inquired, causing the male named Raven to let out a loud bark of laughter.

"Bigger than Rena's? Gods, hers are like fifty pounds each!"

"And how exactly do you know this for a fact?" Chung questioned, cocking an eyebrow in suspicion and slight disgust.

Raven gave an amused snort, replying in a sarcastic tone.

"Who else do you know has fucked the hottest girl in school?"

"Woah woah woah, seriously?! I haven't even talked to her yet!" Elsword exclaimed, earning a sly smirk in reply.

"Lady of El, your methods are too slow. Hell, I bet even now you haven't slept with a single girl!"

"Shut up Raven! Unlike you, I actually like to treat the ladies with respect~." The redhead retorted, a haughty grin on his lips.

"My, so I am not considered a 'lady' by your standards?" Eve remarked, earning a chorus of "ooh"s from the surrounding males.

"Wait, what, no, no! You are!" The redhead responded, waving his arms around in denial. "I'm a true gentleman, I swear!"

"I beg to differ." Eve replied with a scoff.

"Hey Elsword, what was that about treating the ladies with respect?" The ponytailed redhead asked with a cynical tone.

"Shut up Sheath!" The spiky redhead snarled. "What about you? I bet you haven't even kissed a girl yet!"

"I have, actually." The ponytailed boy named Sheath replied, causing his companions to change their questioning target.

"Really? Who?" Raven asked, his ears perked slightly in interest.

"Void! That purple-haired chick who's always got her hair up in two high pigtails. I banged her a few nights ago." Sheath replied haughtily.

"That crazy tomboy flat-board? Dude, that's the same as having sex with a guy!" A blond male remarked, laughing.

"Sh-Shut up! At least I'm not a virgin like Elsword!"

"Well at least I've kissed a hundred times as many girls as you!"

"Oh? I believe one hundred times zero is still zero." Eve remarked, chuckling lightly to herself.

The entire table burst into a round of chaotic applause and laughter, a few of the more daring males even patted the sole female's back, congratulating her on her vicious burn against their famed playboy redhead.

"Geez, I didn't know you could be so mean Eve. I'm hurt, really." Elsword pouted.

"I merely state the truth." The silver-haired heiress responded, feeling her lips turn upwards in a small grin.

Elsword opened his mouth to speak, but before any sound was produced, the bell rang, signifying the end of the students' beloved lunch time. With great reluctance, the table group dispersed, each heading off to their next class. Eve quickly tidied herself up, striding off to her next class she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

"Hey, what do you have next?"

She turned to face the voice, meeting with familiar crimson eyes, followed by a pair of cerulean orbs nearby.

"Science with Mr. Grell." She replied flatly, brushing the boy's hand off.

"Sweet, us too. Let's hope you get assigned to my group." The redhead cheered, walking ahead of the wealthier two.

"You just want to get out of doing even more work, don't you?" Chung accused, huffing as he followed the laughing redhead.

* * *

Science, one of the little heiress' least favorite subjects. And as luck may have it, she was to join Elsword's group. A low sigh escaped from her lips as she strode over to join the redhead at his table. Seating herself in a tall, metal stool, she quickly eyed the other members of her group. There was that loud redhead, the pretty boy rival, a short tan girl with white hair tied lazily in two pigtails eating… _'…A lollipop? In science class? Is that even allowed…?'_

"Aisha's not here today…" The white-haired girl mumbled disappointingly, casually licking her large swirl candy.

"She wasn't here this morning, so I thought she overslept or something." Elsword stated, clasping his hands nonchalantly behind his head. "Maybe she's sick. But at least we've still got three geniuses here!"

"You shouldn't rely on others to do everything for you…" Chung grumbled, earning a hearty laugh from the redhead.

"But I don't! You guys are smarter so I let you use your brains and do all the schoolwork!"

"Elsword, didn't you say your IQ was 400-something? So you should really be able to do something other than sleep in class."

"Hey, I also eat sometimes!"

A groan escaped from the blond heir's lips as he connected his open palm to his face.

"Elsword, I expect you to put in at least 20% of your efforts, now that I have joined your group." Eve demanded, crossing a leg over the other.

"Why? It's so boring, and there's nothing to gain from it." The boy whined, much to the two heirs' annoyance.

With a low sigh, Eve raised a hand to her chin, attempting to devise a plan to get the redhead to be more enthusiastic about class. Meanwhile, Chung simply shook his head in defeat, having attempted many times before, albeit unsuccessfully.

"…I'll give you a third of my lunch from now on?" Eve offered hesitantly.

"R-Really?!" Elsword asked, his eyes practically sparkling at the recollection of the little heiress' lunch. "Can I get a kiss with that too?"

"Why are you so determined for a mere kiss?" Eve questioned, her brows furrowed slightly in confusion. Was this a common achievement goal amongst the middle-class?

"It's my dream to get a kiss from every girl in school!" The boy replied proudly, puffing his chest out.

Slap! A sickening noise echoed through the large classroom as hand made contact with cheek.

"Your manners are quite lacking for a 'gentleman'." The silver-haired girl stated coldly, turning her nose upwards at the redheaded boy.

"Ouch… Hey, I can at least dream right?"

"Oh? I was unaware that chimpanzees were capable of such complicated thought processes."

"…Ouch. That's harsh."

The little heiress opened her mouth for another comeback, but was quickly interrupted by the blond heir.

"Now, now, Miss Eve, don't you think that Elsword could be quite gentlemanly if he tried? And Elsword, don't you think you kind of deserved that, for constantly pestering her for a kiss?" Chung glanced at the stoic maiden and the childish boy, noticing that neither had any intention of agreeing with his statements.

"Well fine then. Excuse me for trying to be nice…" Letting out a huff, Chung leaned on the table, mumbling incoherent sentences about a certain redheaded companion.

"Shouldn't we start on the lab now?" The white-haired girl muttered lazily. "Not that I don't mind doing it…"

"I predicted that we would end up in such a situation, and thus, took the liberty of completing our tasks early." Eve replied proudly, handing the shorter girl a perfectly written report.

"Wait, does this mean I don't get part of your lunch tomorrow?" Elsword suddenly exclaimed, surprising his three partners.

Collecting herself, Eve tossed back her hair and replied in a slightly haughty tone, a faint smirk appearing on her rosy lips.

"Of course, as you did not accomplish anything in either Math or Science class today."

"Wait, I have to put in effort for Math too?!"

"And every other class we attend together."

"What?! What do you have last period then?"

"History with Miss Vanessa."

The redhead let out a low sigh.

"History with Mr. Noel…" He muttered, half disappointed, half relieved.

"That's still only needing to pay attention in two classes, since you have Gym second period." Chung added in, twirling a lock of creamy blond hair. "It's not too bad of a deal if I do say so myself."

"Ugh, but that's still a lot of work." Elsword whined, earning an exasperated sigh from the two company heirs.

"Would you like me to change the requirements to all of your classes then?" The little heiress asked teasingly.

"What—No, no! Please no!" The redhead responded quickly, waving his arms around furiously in denial.

Eve giggled lightly to herself. Though she was normally uninterested in socializing with others, the spiky redheaded boy certainly caught her attention. _'Are all the students of Velder Academy like this?' _The little heiress did not know. Perhaps she should pay a little more attention to her peers? _'I am only here for these first two weeks. Although Father may agree otherwise, it would be a wise idea to make this as interesting as possible…'_

* * *

A pair of small footsteps strode down the empty hallway, their owner more than surprised at the absence of the students. Perhaps she was too early? She checked her watch – 7:58 AM, a little more than thirty minutes before classes begin.

The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her train of thought. The little heiress turned to face the footsteps, slightly glad to see another student in the lonely building.

"Hey Eve! Morning!"

"Good morning, Elsword." The girl replied, deadpan.

As the taller student caught up, Eve continued to walk towards her first class, a new companion in tow. The boy suddenly let out a tired yawn, raising a hand to cover his mouth.

"Aren't you tired? I mean, there's still half an hour before classes start." The redhead grumbled, swinging his schoolbag over his shoulders. "Yeesh, if I didn't have Raven as my roommate, I would be having a nice journey through dreamland right now…"

"The dorm pairs aren't decided by year?" Eve inquired, slightly curious about the students' dorm life.

Elsword shook his head in response.

"They used to, but there was always an odd one out, so they just pair the students based on gender now." The boy explained. "Sometimes there's three to a room though."

Eve nodded her head, silently urging the boy to continue.

"There's two buildings for the dorms – one for girls and one for guys." Elsword continued. "We're not allowed to visit the opposite gender, but no one really cares as long as you don't do anything really stupid or dangerous."

"I see…" Eve murmured, listening intently to the boy's every word. "How far are the dorms from the main building?"

"They're behind the school, so if you don't sneak through the back entrance, about… 3 to 5 minutes walking?"

"And what about lavatories and breakfast?"

"There are toilets and sinks in each dorm room, but the showers are in a separate room down the halls. Breakfasts are provided in the lounge rooms until noon."

"Showers are in a separate room…?" The silver-haired girl repeated, her eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.

The boy nodded his head, laughing at her naïve question.

"Yup! Showers are just down the hall, in another room, ten in a row, like a public bath house. At least, that's what it's like in the guys' dorm. Can't say about the girls though." He explained, finishing with another hearty laugh.

"So you not only have to wait to bathe, but must also share with another person, whom may be watching as you clean yourself?" Eve asked, disgusted by the mere thought.

The redhead simply laughed.

"Well, when you put it that way… Oh look, here's room 130."

Elsword opened the door, stepping aside as he swung his free arm inwards.

"Ladies first~." He called out, earning a scoff as the silver-haired maiden strode into the windowless classroom.

Out of the corner of her eye, Eve noticed a lone desk by the teacher's bureau, her shaggy-haired teacher standing beside it, as if thinking of where to place it in the classroom.

"Good morning Mr. Adams."

"G'Morning!"

The two students greeted their mentor politely, earning a simple nod in reply.

"Hmm… Miss Eve, is there a specific location you would like to be seated? Near the back of the room perhaps?"

"Anywhere is—"

"She would like to sit beside me, sir." Elsword finished for her, a cheeky grin pasted wide on his face.

"Beside you?" The teacher repeated, adjusting his circular glasses.

He quickly glanced around the room, nodding his head multiple times as he found the redheaded boy's desk.

"Yes, yes. I suppose that will work. I believe Tom won't mind moving to the back."

With a grunt, Mr. Adams lifted the desk beside him and carried it over to the third row, placing it down beside the spiky redhead's seat. He then proceeded to lift another desk in the row, carrying it to the very back of the room. Meanwhile, Elsword helped shift Eve's new desk in place. Finished, the brown-haired teacher walked back to his two students.

"Is this all right Miss Eve?"

"In all honesty, this seating plan is—"

"Perfect!" Elsword exclaimed, ignoring the death glare that the little heiress sent him.

The teacher nodded his head, adjusting his glasses as he strode back to his own desk.

"By the way, Miss Eve, here is your textbook for this class. Please return it before you transfer out of this academy."

Taking ahold of the thick book, Eve pulled herself over to her new seat and sat down, a certain redhead grinning victoriously to her right, much to her annoyance. The door suddenly slammed open, causing the two to jump slightly at the noise.

"I'm sorry, I was sick these past few days!" The newcomer cried, bowing down so low that her purple twintails fell off her shoulders.

"It's all right Aisha. We only talked briefly about a new topic, the d'Alembert sequence. I'm sure you'll catch up quickly." The teacher reassured, not even fazed in the slightest by the girl's dramatic entrance.

Nodding her head slowly, the girl named Aisha walked over to her desk, placing her schoolbag down, finally noticing the two other students in the room.

"Oh, good morning Els!" The twintailed maiden called out affectionately, a bright smile visible on her face. She turned her attention to the silver-haired female and introduced herself, waving her hand cheerfully in a polite greeting.

"And hello, you must be new here. I'm Aisha, nice to meet you!"

The little heiress quickly scanned her golden eyes over the smaller girl.

Like herself, the purplenette wore a short sleeved, white dress blouse topped by a light beige vest and red ribbon on the chest. Her bottom garments consisted of the school's navy blue-plaid skirt, dark purple stockings that reached up to her thighs, and white boots that splayed open at the top. A simple chain rested around her neck, attached to it, a gold and silver charm that heavily resembled Elsword's lone earing. Perhaps it was its missing pair?

"Eve." The little heiress replied flatly. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Aisha."

"Just 'Aisha' is fine. When did you transfer in? Monday?"

The silver haired girl nodded, opening her mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted once more by the redheaded boy

"Yup, she replaced you as class genius Monday and yesterday." Elsword answered, his lips turned upwards in a wide, haughty grin.

"Oh. Is that so?" Aisha huffed, clearly upset by her classmate's remark.

"Yeah, but…" The boy stood up and walked over to the small girl, leaning on her desk as he brought his face closer. "…You'll always be the smartest when it comes to the topic of me."

As the hushed words left his mouth, Elsword leaned in to lock lips with the petit girl, closing his eyes as he did so. Nearby, Eve watched with a surprised expression as the boy pulled himself away – after twenty seconds exactly according to her mental counting – leaving the girl red-faced and looking desperate for more.

"Oh Els…" The girl murmured, gazing at the boy with longing eyes.

"Yes?" The boy whispered, chuckling lightly as he planted another kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Are you… Are you going to go after her too?" Aisha asked hesitantly, her violet eyes stealing a quick glance at the stoic-faced girl nearby.

The boy simply nodded, leaning in closer to answer with a low voice, allowing Eve to only hear soft murmurs. Pulling himself away, he smiled, sharing a silent thought with the purplenette.

"I see…" The girl mumbled, stealing another glance at the little heiress.

The metallic sound of the school bell interrupted her thoughts, and she hastily pulled out her supplies, preparing for yet another day of class. Elsword too, returned to his own desk, just as the door opened and students flooded the large classroom, each settling down in their respective seats.

"Alright everyone, please turn to page 252."

* * *

Much like the first day, as soon as the school bell even rung once, Eve's classmates rushed out of the room, leaving her all alone in a matter of mere seconds. Heaving out a short sigh, the little heiress packed up her belongings, returning them to her prototype charms. She quickly checked over her appearance, straightening the red ribbon on her chest before striding out of the classroom, her destination: the chaotic room one may know as the cafeteria.

Upon arrival, the little heiress was greeted with a loud cheer from her new… …Comrades, per say. Eve straightened her back and confidently strode over to the large table, fully aware of the occasional glances that were shot her way. She pulled out an open seat beside an all-too-familiar smirking redhead, and a tall, tan male whom was recorded in her database as "Raven".

"I see you've decided not to cause a ruckus this time." The taller male remarked, sarcasm dripping over his every word.

"I have no reason to, as your supposed 'leader' has chosen wisely as to not disturb me from across the room this time." Eve replied flatly, activating her charms and pulling out her lunch.

As she retrieved her lunch, the little heiress noticed that a teapot had not been included. She frowned. _'Unacceptable. I must remember to punish Oberon accordingly when I return.'_

"Oh Eve, are you thirsty?" A black-haired boy called out, leaning across the table.

Eve turned to face the boy, recognizing him as a junior by the name of "Henrier Schulitz". The boy smiled upon meeting with her eyes.

"I can buy you a drink if you'd like."

"Aw hell no!"

The boy named Henrier flinched at the harsh response, surprised that it was his infamous playboy friend who had answered, and not the quiet little heiress.

"I already claimed her! No one is allowed to hit on her except for me!"

Slap!

"Despicable. And yet you dare call yourself a 'gentleman'?" Eve hissed, clearly annoyed that she was considered one of Elsword's possessions.

As the redhead cringed in pain, Eve tossed back her hair and crossed her legs, reminding herself about her father's warnings. She turned to face her black-haired junior.

"I would appreciate a drink, thank you. Any beverage is acceptable, but please inform me of the price afterwards."

"Oh, no, it's fine!" Henrier quickly shook his hands in a polite gesture of denial. "Don't worry about paying me back."

"Nonsense, it would be improper for me not to repay you somehow." The little heiress insisted, more to appeal to her family name than herself.

"Then… …How about a kiss?"

"Oh hell no! I want to kiss her first!"

Slap!

"I would suggest you silence that foul mouth of yours, while it's still yours to shut." Eve muttered, gritting her teeth.

"Looks like you've finally met your match, Elsword." The black-haired boy laughed. "And don't worry, I was just kidding anyway. So is apple juice fine with you Eve?"

The girl simply nodded, her mind far more occupied by the actions of the impetuous boy beside her. Heaving a sigh, she turned to shoot a glare at the spiky redhead, whom instantly scooted his seat away.

"Sorry, I'm not in the mood for a third slap today. Ahaha…" He joked, quickly raising his hands up in surrender.

With a childish huff, Eve sharply turned her head away, just realizing that her face had twisted into a scornful expression. She quickly relaxed her muscles, unaware that she had become so frustrated. For one who has never indulged much in social activities, it was strange that she was getting all emotional over a simple boy.

She froze, her golden eyes widening in astonishment as she repeated the thought. _It was strange that she was getting all emotional over a simple boy. _Her eyes quickly stole a glance at the redheaded boy. Without even realizing it, this loud, arrogant, rash, irksome boy had forced her to explode out of her little shell… She let out a quiet chuckle, hoping that it was not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

"This is a rare, did something funny happen?" Chung suddenly asked, surprised that the little heiress was even capable of laughing.

"No, it was nothing." The girl quickly denied, forcing her lips to return to a straight line.

The blond boy simply stared with suspicious eyes, before quickly returning to his own lunch. He was shortly interrupted by a metal spoon being thrown his way. Reflexively, he raised his right hand and grabbed the spoon, dropping it instantly when his fingers came in contact with unknown liquid on the spoon's bowl. His face showed an expression of utter disgust as he whipped out a handkerchief and a bottle of hand sanitizer, hastily but accurately cleansing his right hand.

"Don't worry, it's just water." Raven remarked, the corners of his lips turned upwards in a purely sadistic grin.

"What was that for though?!"

"Because you still haven't told us anything about your fiancé."

"This again…?" Chung let out a groan, letting his head fall into his hands as the surrounding males recalled their rapid topic change on Monday, and how the engaged boy was at a Student Council meeting on Tuesday.

Before anyone could even utter a word, the blond heir had packed up his belongings and strode away, his luscious hair fluttering in the wind created by his inhuman walking speed. From behind, the entire table called out to their blond companion. Various taunts and cries of dismays could be heard until the Seiker heir had completely vanished from sight.

"Aww, he ran away." Elsword whined childishly. "So what about you, Eve? Do you have a fiancé too? Or are you still up for grabs?"

As he spoke, Elsword shifted his seat back over to the silver-haired girl, casually wrapping his left arm around the girl's neck and letting it drape over her shoulder.

"Of course not. I alone am more than enough to manage my family's company line." The little heiress replied flatly, brushing the boy's arm off.

"But won't you get lonely?"

"…I am the heir to a large company throughout Elrios. I have no time to be 'lonely'." Eve murmured in response, her voice quivering just slightly, as if she was a little uncertain about her own response.

"…In that case, how about you marry me? That way, I can help you manage your company and you'll have some time to become lonely!" Elsword joked, earning yet another whip-like slap to his cheek.

Raven clicked his tongue at the sight.

"Damn, doesn't your hand ever get sore from all those slaps?"

"Of course not. I graduated with top marks from Altera Slapping Institution." The girl responded with a deadpan expression.

"…For real?"

"Of course not, that was merely sarcasm."

The older male gave an amused snort.

"That was really bad sarcasm then."

Slap!

* * *

The date marked September 17th – the fifth day since the little heiress transfer. And today marked the fifth time a certain redhead was slapped by this feisty little heiress.

"You know, I'm getting kind of sick of all your slaps." The boy grumbled, rubbing his sore cheek.

The girl merely averted her gaze.

"They were all simply results caused by your actions." She replied, deadpan.

"What? But I didn't even do anything this time."

"Of course you did. Everything stems from a reason."

"Geez Eve, haven't you gotten a lot colder recently? Is something up?"

"It's nothing."

As she uttered those words, the little heiress paced out of the classroom and down the hallway to her second period class, leaving behind a very confused redhead.

"…Yeesh, what's gotten into her? She's gotten so tense after Aisha retur—oh." He laughed. "Is she jealous now? Heh, that's so cute…"

* * *

As the silvery chime of the old school bell rung, Eve quickly packed up her belongings and rushed out of the classroom. From behind, she heard approaching footsteps and a familiar voice call out her name, causing the little heiress to drastically quicken her pace.

"God damn it, Eve! Will you just stop for one second?!"

The girl abruptly stopped and turned around to face the redhead.

"I do not wish to be late for my next class, Elsword." The girl replied with a slightly irritated tone.

"Yup, you really are angry at me." The boy laughed, earning a sharp huff in response.

"I have three minutes forty-seven seconds before my next class begins. Please state your business within two minutes." Eve demanded, narrowing her eyes in a cold glare.

"Two minutes is more than enough. Are you free tomorrow?"

The girl nodded.

"Great! Then meet me in Ruben Park, on Lake Noah's Lane, at noon. See ya then!"

With nothing else to say, Elsword strode away, waving an arm as he bid farewell. Behind him, Eve stood, speechless, her mouth slightly agape. She quickly closed her mouth and shook her head, collecting herself as she continued towards History class. As she wove her way through the crowded hallways, she made a mental reminder to herself about the meeting – Ruben Park, 12:00 PM. A sigh escaped from her lips. _'How troublesome…'_

* * *

The sky was clear and of a serene blue, the occasional mist-like cloud scattered here and there. For being almost winter, the grass remained a soft green, and the air was warm, with a slight breeze. As to be expected of a Saturday noon, the park was littered with various children accompanied by their parents or friends, and a few lovey-dovey couples hogging up the benches.

With no other available seats, Eve sat down on the edge of the white marble fountain, twisting her body to lean over and gaze at the rippling waters. Her reflection stared back at her – a silver haired girl donned in a thin black jacket, a red scarf tied around her neck. Turning around once more, she patted down her multi-layer black ruffle skirt, crossing a black leather booted leg over the other. She raised her arm, glancing at the silver watch bound to her wrist – the time read 11:57 AM, three minutes twenty-nine seconds before their arranged meeting time.

She uncrossed her legs and folded her hands neatly atop of her skirt, her bored eyes taking in her calm surroundings. The little heiress began to daydream, her mind immersed in the peaceful gliding of the white clouds...

"Hey! Eve!"

The girl quickly snapped out of her trance and turned to face the voice. The approaching redhead was dressed in a white shirt with a black short-sleeved jacket on top, matched with black jeans and sneakers. Though it looked as if the boy had rushed, the messy style of dressing somehow suited him.

"I see you've finally arrived." Eve chided with a deadpan expression.

"Aw, come on. I'm not that late, am I?"

"The time reads 12:27."

"…I won't be late next time?"

Eve gave an amused scoff, standing up.

"Well? What is your reason for calling me out today?"

The redhead gave a light laugh.

"I'll tell you later. So how about some ice cream?"

"Ice cream?" The girl repeated, furrowing her brows slightly. "In this weather?"

"Well, why not?" Elsword asked, laughing. "It'll be my treat."

"I can pay for myself." The silver-haired girl retorted, tossing back a loose strand of hair.

"Nah, it's all right. My treat, okay?"

As he spoke, Elsword walked closer to the little heiress and reached for her left hand, gently intertwining their fingers together. He smiled, shoving his free hand into his pant pocket. He observed the little heiress, chuckling softly to himself as she made a discomforting face, retracting her fingers and reconnecting their hands in a more casual, fingerless hold.

"I know this nice café we can rest at nearby. They serve some great ice cream too!" Elsword flashed his signature grin at the silver-haired girl, who simply nodded.

Pulling the girl along, he racked his brain for a conversation topic. She was probably still upset at him. Until he knew the reason, it would be a bad idea to pry too deeply.

"So, how's life?" He asked cautiously, hoping not to step on any landmines.

"Good."

Silence.

"So… Did anything interesting happen?"

"Depends on your definition of 'interesting'."

"Anything you consider interesting?"

"Nothing of note."

More silence.

_'Geez, she's really pissed at me isn't she?'_

"Is Aisha waiting for you at the café?"

Elsword glanced at the formerly silent girl, slightly surprised by her inquiry.

"No, why do you ask?"

The girl averted her gaze and slowed down for a brief moment, as if collecting her thoughts.

"…Isn't she your lover?"

The boy stared, his eyes locked with her confused golden orbs, before he suddenly burst into laughter.

"You really are jealous!" He teased, grabbing ahold of the girl's delicate wrists before she could land another fatal slap.

"Of course not." Eve huffed, pulling her arms free. "I am merely assuming of such, due to the implications that you have set upon yourselves."

Elsword stared, dumbfounded, before raising a hand to his temples and shaking his head in defeat.

"…I have no idea what you just said, but I'm gonna assume it was something like 'but you and Aisha are always acting like lovers'."

He started to walk again, beckoning the silver haired girl to follow.

"Tell you what – I'll let you in on a little secret once we get to the café." Finishing with a light laugh, the redhead took ahold of the little heiress' hand once more, sending her a quick wink as he continued to pull her along the stone-tiled path.

* * *

"And here we are!" Elsword declared, swinging his free arm in a drastic gesture as he strode into the small café.

The two were immediately greeted by a polite black-haired waitress, and seated near a window. Sitting down, Eve patted the cushiony seat, her curiosity overwriting her rationality. Like a child, she began to bounce up and down, pressed her hands down forcefully on the cushion and watched the foam refill the handprint, tried inscribing words with her finger… She suddenly remembered the boy seated across from her and quickly straightened herself, her golden eyes narrowed in a sharp glare.

"You. Saw. Nothing." She threatened, enunciating every syllable.

The boy simply laughed, waving his hand off with a carefree attitude.

"You're blushing though; your face is all red."

"It is merely a result from this heat." Eve quickly denied, unraveling her bright red scarf and placing it beside her, as if to prove her point.

"Whatever you say~. Oh hey, your charms look different, did you change them?"

"You could say that. I merely upgraded their carrying capacity and fixed some bugs, along with redesigning their exterior." The girl replied proudly, speaking in the tone of a bored genius, as if it were a simple matter to deal with.

Elsword nodded in admiration, his eyes glued to the small robots that hung around the girl's pale neck. Both had increased slightly in size, and drastically in ferocity. The white robot gained a horn that ran over the center of the head, in between its two long ears, which were now decorated with sinister black stripes. Its limbs had grown longer and pointed outwards, and a puffy round tail connected to its behind. A gold metal lined the front-most horn of the black robot, trailing down to its eyes like a warrior's helmet. Its horns had become larger and sharper, and a multi-layer, spiked tail had spawned from behind. Like the white charm, the black one's arms and legs had also grown and extended outwards in a crawling motion. Rather than the small plushie-like charms from before, the upgraded versions looked more like robots designed for an all-out war.

"The black one looks so cool." He laughed, seeing an imperious grin sneak up to the girl's face. "Hey, would you mind making one for me sometime?"

"These current ones are merely prototypes, but after the testing stage, my father will be releasing them as a new product from Nasod Intelligence Corporations – with an array of different designs of course." The girl replied haughtily, oblivious to the wide smirk on her lips. "Though as they are my own personal invention, I have no doubt of their success."

The redhead let out a low whistle.

"Wow, that's amazing… I never knew you were so interested in these sorts of things."

"Naturally. I am the heir to a large technological company – it would be shameful if I did not know the basics for electronics and manufacturing at the very least."

"Eh~. But Chung doesn't like programming. He says he hates having to 'sit down and not move for hours on end.'" The boy commented, waving two fingers for emphasis on the blond's quote.

"I have a feeling he will spend some more time with computer sciences. His fiancé has received an honor's for robotics, after all." Eve responded, earning a surprised look from the redhead.

"Wait, you know his fiancé?"

"Only their academic achievements."

"Don't most schools keep these private though?" Elsword questioned, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

The girl scoffed in reply.

"Please. The security of 98% of schools in Lurensia is so simple, even your average toddler would be able to access it."

The redhead let out a weak laugh, too ashamed to confess that he would not be able to hack into any administration compartment, even with someone else's help.

"So aside from their schoolwork, you don't know anything about them?" He asked, hoping to lead the conversation away from computers.

Eve simply nodded.

"Gee, I guess we'd better ask Chung for more info later."

The girl nodded again.

With no other topics coming to mind, Elsword glanced around the small café, his eyes noticing the unopened menus on their table.

"Oh, so have you decided what you want yet?"

The little heiress quickly picked up her own menu and flipped it open to a random page, completely forgetting about their original task. Her eyes darted all over the pages, setting on a tall glass cup of pink cream and assorted fruits.

"This 'Sweet Love Sundae' appears to be quite appealing." She mumbled, her mind beginning to ponder about the origin of the name.

"Can you finish it? It's pretty big you know."

"…If I'm unable to, I'll store it away for later."

"In your charms?"

"Of course. They have temperature adjustments, allowing hot or cold materials to be stored without worry."

Elsword stared, disbelief written all over his face.

"…Seriously? You can do that?"

The girl simply nodded in response.

"I… I feel like a part of my brain just exploded…"

"Good."

* * *

Eve placed her metal spoon down, pulling out a napkin to clean her lips. Across from her, a redheaded boy let out a low whistle.

"Wow. I can't believe you actually finished it all."

"Is there a problem with me being able to do so?" The little heiress inquired, shooting a cold glare his way.

"Nope! Just surprised, is all. I guess you just like sweets more than I do or something." He laughed, raising an arm to call for the bill.

As a waiter placed their check on the table, Eve quickly activated her black charm and pulled out her wallet. She reached out to grab the receipt, but missed, the paper now in the grasps of her redheaded companion.

"It's all right, I said I would treat you."

"Nonsense, I am able to pay for my share, at the very least." She replied with a huff. "Now please hand me the check."

"Don't wanna."

"Elsword, I demand you hand me the check this instant."

"Sorry princess, no can do." He smirked, a chill running down his spine as he locked eyes with a demonic glare.

A defeated sigh escaped from the girl's lips. Out of the corner, she noticed the waiter returning to pick up the check. Before the boy could notice the waiter, Eve quickly handed a hundred dollar bill to the tall male.

"I believe this is sufficient enough to cover our costs. No change is necessary, thank you."

"Th-Thank you so much!"

The waiter bowed deeply before rushing off to his next destination. As the waiter disappeared from her sight, the little heiress turned to face her redheaded companion, a haughty smirk resting comfortably on her soft lips.

"…I'm definitely paying next time." Elsword scowled, shoving some bills back into his pockets.

"Good luck." The little heiress taunted, chuckling quietly to herself.

Seeing the usually stoic girl laugh, Elsword could not help but smile as well. Beckoning the girl to follow, he strode out of the little café, stretching his arms as he breathed in the cool afternoon air.

"I'm glad you're not angry at me anymore, at least." He thanked aloud.

"Quite the contrary, really."

_'…Shit. She's still pissed.' _He cussed.

"So, uh, I get the feeling that this is all some sort of big misunderstanding. Are there any questions you'd like me to answer?"

"None."

"…Oh."

Neither of the two spoke another word, merely continuing to walk along in silence, though only the redhead seemed to be troubled by the girl's returning menace.

"I am curious about your relationship to Aisha, however." Eve suddenly stated, surprising the boy. "Your responses towards each other suggest that you are in an intimate relationship, but your responses towards everyone else suggests otherwise." She added, her face returning to its usual stoic expression.

"Hmm~, I wonder…" He stopped, placing a hand on his hips and leaning just slightly, giving off a teasing air.

Eve too, stopped and turned to face the boy, her ears perked in curiosity, her mind taking guesses at his next words.

"You wonder…?"

The boy let out a soft chuckle and took a step closer to the silver haired girl. He reached for her hand, grasping onto it loosely.

"How badly do you want to know?" He asked in a hushed voice, bringing his face closer to the silver haired girl's. "If I tell you… …Will you give me a kiss?"

"…Depends on the value of your information."

"I guess it's a deal then." Elsword laughed once more, pulling himself away to clasp his hands behind his head. "Let's sit down first though – there's an empty bench over there and I'm tired of standing."

Eve followed the boy obediently, and sat down on the wooden bench, folding her arms neatly atop her legs.

"Well? Are you ready to start now?" She asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Yeah. Everything I'm going to tell you is the truth, but it'll be up to you whether you believe it or not."

"Oh? It's rare to hear such serious words come from your mouth."

"Hey! I'm always serious! Well, sometimes." The boy retorted, smiling. "Okay, so the deal is – Raven, Aisha, and I… Wait, no, Raven and I, we're incubi from the demon realm. And Aisha's a succubus."

He stole a glance at the shorter girl, expecting her to either slap him, or scoff at his 'lies'. Her response, however, was neither.

"An incubus? A demon that takes the shape of their target's ideal person, and charms them in order to devour their soul, for energy?" She stared at the redhead, clearly interested in his claim.

Stunned, the boy could only nod his stiff head. He assumed that the little heiress was a realist and did not believe in such fantasies. Recalling her previous revelations of her childish nature, he eased up. Perhaps she was secretly interested in such beliefs? Or maybe she was a true realist, who accepted such beliefs upon being proved of their existence? A smile returned to his face as his brain sorted his information to be relayed.

"Yeah, but most demons aren't able to change their appearance now, with the exception of shape-shifters obviously, which neither of us three are. Also, Aisha and I are pure-breeds, so we only need a very small part of the soul. That's why we kiss every time we see each other. We're not lovers or anything though."

The girl nodded, seeming very pleased with his response. She suddenly frowned, recalling the event of the duo's first kiss in front of her.

"However, I believe you averred a certain phrase when Aisha returned last Wednesday. 'You'll always be the smartest when it comes to me?' I believe?"

"What about it?" The boy questioned, completely oblivious to the threatening tone the little heiress had taken on.

"I do not see why you must state such a flamboyant sentence if she were not your lover. And, her response was quite that of a yearning nature."

"Woah, it actually worked!" The boy laughed. "I can't believe you actually got jealous over such a cheesy pickup line."

Slap!

"What about her necklace charm?" She continued calmly. "If my eyes do not deceive me, it heavily resembles the earring you wear on your left earlobe."

"It is the same. Right now, two other girls also have one. It's a charm I made to mark the girls who give really nice kisses~."

Slap!

Collecting herself, Eve dusted her hands off and crossed a leg over the other, patiently waiting for the redhead to finish sulking over his swollen cheek.

"So like I was saying…" The boy mumbled, clearing his throat as he continued in a more audible voice. "Aisha and I are pure-breeds, so we can live off of kisses. Raven's a half-breed though, so he needs larger pieces of love. Like the next level of hugs and kisses."

Eve nodded again, raising a hand as she spoke.

"A question – if you are able to attain energy from one another, what is the purpose of your transfer here?"

"Well…" The redhead heaved a sigh. He dramatically inhaled a deep breath, speaking so quickly that the little heiress could barely understand what he was saying.

"Okay, so you see, the demon king recently made a vessel so that he could go to the human world, but the vessel was incomplete, but he already used up all the human souls we had in storage, so he started taking the souls of lower-class demons. But then, this high-ranking vampire prince decided to get married to a human, so this ancient vampire ritual had to be performed, but of course, they need not only the vampire's blood but as well as a like a freaking million souls. So now, the demon realm is in a bit of a soul crisis, so the three of us fled here so we could survive until this whole thing was over."

He took another deep breath, closing his eyes to collect himself

"Any other questions?" He asked, opening his eyes to look at his silver haired companion.

"Yes, one – does your goal of kissing every female student have anything in relation to your methods of obtaining energy?"

The boy laughed.

"Nope! That's just me – even we demons have our own preferences you know. Bad breath and too much saliva are outright no-no's. And it's irritating for me if my partner's taller than I am."

"I see…"

"So! Do I get a kiss now?" Elsword asked teasingly, flashing his signature cheeky grin.

The little heiress glanced at her watch – 3:27 PM. She stood up, activating her white charm to pull out a sleek black flip-phone.

"Unfortunately, I have a meeting in a few moments. Your explanation was satisfactory, thank you. However, I must postpone the completion of the deal until later."

The boy let out a groan, disappointed that his charms had failed him against the silver beauty once again.

"Should I walk you home then?"

"No need." Eve replied, putting her phone away just as a black limousine pulled up right in front of her.

Elsword let out a low whistle, watching in amusement as a masked man scurried out of the driver's seat and opened the door for the little heiress, rushing back to the driver's seat afterwards.

"Hey, don't forget about my part of your lunch on Monday!" Elsword called out, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice. "I worked my butt off in science on Friday you know!"

The little heiress rolled down her window, a faint smile visible on her lips.

"Of course. I am not one to go back on a promise." She replied haughtily, tossing back her hair.

"Good, I'll be expecting something really good on Monday then!" The boy laughed, extending his arm to wave farewell. The silver haired maiden simply raised a hand in reply, rolling her window back up as the car began to move.

* * *

As with every other morning, the hallways were completely empty. Despite being her last day at Velder Academy, the little heiress did not feel too overjoyed at finally being able to leave – a completely opposing thought compared to her first day at this school. She admitted – the education system was of low quality, and the communication between staff and students was quite lacking, but she enjoyed the little time she spent with her new companions. Her… Friends, per say.

"Morning Eve! You look happy today."

The girl quickly snapped out of her trance, unaware of the grin that had sneaked up to her lips. Her lips returned to their usual straight line as she slowed down to face the familiar redheaded incubus.

"Good morning, Elsword." She greeted, her voice its usual deadpan tone.

"So how did you think you did on the test? We're getting our marks back today right?"

"Affirmative. I have no doubt of my calculations, therefore, I can confidently say that I have achieved a mark of at least 95%."

"95%? If Aisha heard you right now, she'd start freaking out about how bad of a mark that was." He laughed again, causing the girl to chuckle softly, though she quickly cleared her throat to cover it up, hoping the redhead did not notice.

"How do you think you have fared?" She asked, earning a dejected groan from the redhead.

"Well, considering you and Chung drilled a million pages' worth of information into our brains yesterday... …At least a 40%?"

"…If you do not achieve at least a passing 60%, I will deduct your share of today's lunch by half."

"W-What?! Eve! That's too mean!"

"In that case, how about four-eighths?"

"Oh thank you merciful—Wait a minute, that's still one half!"

The little heiress smirked, raising a hand to her lips as she let out a sly chuckle.

"My, it appears that you have improved. That's relieving to know, at the least."

Elsword grumbled in response, muttering under his breath. Worried that she might have upset him, the little heiress stole a glance at the taller redhead. Much to her surprise, the boy was smiling cheerfully, and staring back at her. She felt her face flush upon meeting his crimson eyes – an unusual response, and unfortunately, one that caught the redhead's attention.

"Hey, are you all right? Do you have a fever or something?" He asked, his voice containing a suggestion of concern.

Eve shook her head in response, waving an arm to bat the boy's worry away. Arriving at their classroom, she opened the door and stepped inside, holding the door for the redhead behind her. Their teacher, as always, had already arrived, and was organizing his notes for the day's lessons. There was another student in the classroom – a twintailed purplenette that seemed quite friendly, but was still disliked by the little heiress for one reason or another.

"Hey Aisha, you're early today." Elsword greeted, raising a hand in a wave.

"Well, I _am_ an honor student. It would reflect badly on me if I were late to class like you are almost every day."

"Well at least I actually grew taller unlike you." The redhead retorted with an unamused scoff.

"What was that?! Look here mister! Just because your family is of the same tier of me does not, I repeat, does NOT give you the privilege to judge my abilities solely on my height! These sorts of atrocious accusations are not only incorrect but also shameful to one's demure and should be prohibited…"

"Oh great, she's going on her 'short' rant again." The boy whispered sarcastically to the silver-haired maiden.

"Hey! I heard that!"

He chuckled, continuing to speak to his stoic-faced classmate, his crimson eyes occasionally flickering to the shorter demon.

"Ya know, there're been tons of times when she's been mistaken for a lower-class demon because of how small she is…"

"Elsword Sieghart, don't you _dare _utter another word!"

Said person flashed a toothy grin at the shorter demon, chuckling endlessly to himself. With a casual pace, he strode over to the little purplenette and carried out their daily tasks of devouring their 'meals'. Nearby, Eve averted her gaze from the duo, walking to her own desk and taking out her math supplies. From her right, she heard the childish bickering of the demon duo, though she was no longer interested in their claims. She quickly tuned herself out, her mind beginning to wander amidst its own world.

Without even realizing it, the days had flown by with an incredible speed. The few days that she had been here were really quite colorful, even to the little heiress. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Her two weeks' time was over; today marked her last day at the famed Velder Academy. And starting tomorrow, she would return to the company of a sole private tutor. A sigh escaped her mouth. She had not informed her acquaintances of her departure. It would be regretful, but perhaps an unnoticed leave would serve the better? There was always the option of communicating via telephone or instant messaging, though the little heiress doubted the effect would be the same as with the whole group together. She sighed again.

"Are you all right Eve?"

The little heiress snapped out of her trance, briskly turning to face the formerly bickering couple.

"You've been really quiet this morning." The purplenette stated, accompanied by a nod from the redhead.

"Is there a prohibition to being quiet?"

"N-No! Not at all! Just…" Before Aisha could finish, the door slammed open, and teenagers of all shapes and sizes scurried in, instantly filling up the once-empty classroom. The silvery tone of the bell rang out, alerting both students and teachers of the now starting sessions.

"Everyone sit down please." Mr. Adams called out, his voice significantly louder than the week before. "I'll be handing out the test results. Everyone did pretty well – the average this time was 73%."

Prioritizing education over socialization, Aisha returned to her own desk and took out her school supplies, clasping her hands neatly atop the wooden desk as she straightened her back, eager to learn about the results of their most recent test.

Eve too, straightened her posture, as the teacher called out the names of her classmates and handed them their test. She stole a glance at the purplenette near her, making a mental note to ask Raven about the succubus' true emotions for their redheaded companion.

"Eve!"

Hearing her name called, Eve quickly got out of her seat and walked up to the front of the class, taking ahold of her test paper. 100%. She smiled, returning to her desk. A perfect 100 – a fitting mark for one of her status.

"Aisha!"

The petit girl had her eyes glued to her test page as she slowly walked back to her seat. Pulling out her chair, she let out a childish whine, undoubtedly frustrated over her mark.

"Hey Eve, what did you get?" She asked, turning to face the silver haired girl.

"100 percent." Eve replied flatly.

"Really?! What'd you get for question 5 b?"

"X is equal to 73.27 degrees while y is equal to 52.09 degrees."

"Ehhhh?! I thought x was 40.55 degrees…"

"Did you notice the same-angle marking in angle BAC and angle TRS?"

"…Oh. I didn't notice that." The twintailed maiden replied in a hush tone, beginning to pout over such a simple mistake.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Startled, the entire class turned to face the sudden screeching noise. They all stared with mixed expressions at the spiky redheaded boy kneeling in the center of the classroom, his arms and head raised towards the sky – a test paper with the numbers 85 in red clutched in his left hand.

His two female companions uttered a sigh, both raising a hand to their temples in perfect synchronization. The shorter one of the two let out a defeated groan.

"Elsword, you idiot…"

* * *

Footsteps pounded the cold marble floor, a petit girl with flowing silver locks chasing after her senior. She called out after him:

"Raven!"

The male stopped and turned around, gazing with half-lidded eyes at the approaching female. Finally caught up, the girl slowed down, breathing deeply to catch her breath.

"Wow, you really need to get out more." Raven mocked, earning a cold glare from the smaller female.

"That matter aside, I wish to speak to you regarding an important topic." She tossed a strand of silver hair back, straightening her posture.

"And that is?"

"I wish to inquire about the relationship between Aisha and Elsword, whom I assume you know well."

The boy cocked an eyebrow, surprised by the girl's unexpectedly curious nature.

"You jealous?" He asked, a wide smirk sneaking up to his lips.

Eve scoffed in response.

"Of course not. I am merely intrigued by Aisha's responses to Elsword's actions. According to my database, her actions can be described as a 'longing or yearning for another person'. I wish to confirm if this is true or not."

"So you want to know if she likes Elsword or not?" Raven spoke slowly, perplexed by the heiress' complex manner of speech.

The girl nodded her head.

"That is correct."

"Let's see... She might've had a crush on him or something, but I think she's over it now."

"I see… So it is merely nothing more than simply sharing energy?"

"Sharing energy?"

"Using each other as a means of obtaining a kiss, that can be converted into life source and/or energy."

The older boy let out a low chuckle.

"So you know huh? That makes things a lot easier."

"I presume then that my assumption is correct?"

The boy nodded in response.

"In that case, may I ask why Aisha does not involve herself with you?" Eve continued, earning a haughty cackle from the golden eyed boy.

"That's simple – she's a pure-breed, I'm only half." He smirked. "Plus, I need way more than just a simple kiss."

"I see… Thank you for your time, Raven."

With a polite nod of her head, Eve flashed a quick smile and briskly strode away. Behind her, the tall boy laughed, surprised that the little heiress was even capable of smiling.

"Heh. Something interesting's bound to happen soon."

* * *

Cheers erupted throughout the cafeteria as a cluster of teenage boys caught sight of their renowned female commander, her lips turned upwards in a rare smile. The silver haired girl waved politely at the group, lowering her arm as she strode to the large table.

"Good afternoon." She greeted, earning multiple derived replies.

As usual, Eve pulled out an empty seat near the middle of the table. To her right, a ponytailed junior, Sheath; to her left, a lime-blond boy, Gerald. And straight across from her were her closest male friends, a certain redhead directly in the middle.

"Heya Eve." The redhead greeted, raising his hand casually in a wave.

"Hello."

"You seem to be in a good mood today." He smiled, causing the little heiress to quickly reassume her stoic expression.

"Greetings aside, I have requested Oberon to prepare a small banquet as a means of congratulating you on your test results."

"R-Really?!" The boy beamed, saliva slowly seeping out of his mouth. Noticing this, he swiped his arm across his mouth, clearing his throat before he continued.

"So, when will it be here? Won't it take a while? To cook and bring here and all that?"

A soft giggle emitted from her lips.

"Of course not. It is already here, in a sense."

The boy simply stared in confusion. His eyes widened as he watched the little heiress activate her two charms and pull out plate after plate of luxurious dishes made only for royalty.

"Please, enjoy. There should be enough to satisfy everyone here, unless if you have an extremely large appetite."

"Er, I love food, but I don't think I can eat _that _much…" Elsword trailed off with a meek laugh, mentally slamming his head against a wall for temporarily forgetting about the little heiress' supreme technologies.

"Thanks for the meal then." Raven laughed, leaning over to grab a plate of juicy ribs.

His actions cued the other males to each grab a plate or two of an appealing-looking dish, all remembering to throw a sincere "thank you" towards the little heiress. While his companions began rioting over who-gets-what, Chung exhaled sharply and brought out his own lunch.

"Chungy, you're not going to eat anything?" Elsword asked, his mouth full of food.

The blond boy shook his head.

"I've already got my own lunch. Plus, I don't want to come off rude or barbaric." He added, glancing at the rowdy mob of hungry teenagers with half-lidded, unamused eyes.

"My, no need to feel humble young Seiker heir." Eve teased, taking a sip of tea.

The boy merely scoffed in response, earning a light laugh from the little heiress.

"In that case, let me bring in some cooking from our own family's chefs tomorrow." He grinned arrogantly, placing his elbow on the table and leaning on his hand.

Despite becoming good friends over the past few days, the two patricians still had quite a competitive air between the two. However, instead of a haughty reply, the little heiress simply shook her head.

"That will not be necessary, as today will mark my final attendance at this school."

Stunned, Elsword placed down his fork and food and gazed at the silver haired girl, his expression showing one of utter remorse.

"…You're leaving?" He asked hesitantly.

Eve simply nodded in response.

The entire table fell into silence. They may not have been extremely close with the little heiress, but each and every member was still sorrow for the girl's departure.

"…We could always meet up sometime, outside of school." Sheath suggested, earning nods of agreement from his peers.

"As I will be returning to my former schedule in Altera, I doubt I will have much time to spare. I apologize." She bowed her head slightly, her face perfectly expressionless, despite the chaos forming in her mind. _'It appears that an unnoticed departure will no longer be possible…'_

"Hey, no worries!" Elsword called out, surprising the little heiress. "If we can't meet in person, we can always meet on the internet or phone line."

Eve raised her head, meeting with familiar crimson eyes and the boy's signature grin.

"And plus," He continued. "If you're ever lonely, just call me and I'll rush over – for the price of a kiss."

Eve felt a vein protrude in her head. Without even realizing, she had leaned over the table and struck an open palm across the boy's cheek, causing the redhead to emit a forced laugh.

"Well, it's good that you're back to your normal self now…" He raised a hand to his cheek, a stinging pain surging reverberating throughout his face.

Raven let out a hearty laugh, patting the smaller boy's back as he praised cynically,

"Great going Elsword!"

"Oh shut up Raven, I don't need your sarcasm right now. Or ever, for that matter." The redhead retorted, earning another loud bark from his senior.

"Yeah, whatever. Tell me that when you finally get laid."

"Like you're one to talk. I can't believe someone's actually fine with making love to a guy with such a weird hairstyle!"

"At least mine doesn't look like a dying, bloody porcupine."

"Hmm, I quite like Elsword's hairstyle though." Eve commented, earning a surprised look from both males. "And yours too, Raven. The monochrome scheme is really quite nice."

The two glanced at each other, both feeling extremely uncomfortable that the formerly cold-hearted heiress was actually praising not one, but two people, whom were not related to her by blood or company line.

"Although…" She continued, oblivious to their hesitation. "I personally think the one here with the most brilliant hair would be our little 'Chungy-boy'."

She chuckled lightly at the nickname, soon joined in with the redhead who invented the name.

"Right? Who does your hair, Chungy?"

"…Myself." The Seiker heir replied hesitantly, dreading his companion's next words.

"Wow, you should become a hairstylist. I would totally visit you!" Elsword jeered, casually resting his arms behind his head as he let out a cheerful laugh.

"You'd better. Rather than a porcupine, that head of yours looks more like a giant, dead rat." Chung retorted with sarcastic but deadpan tone.

"You should really fix up that black spot near your forehead too." The lime-blond boy named Gerald remarked.

"H-Hey! I think it's cool!"

"It really isn't though…" A brown-haired boy commented, clicking his tongue.

"Woah, wait! Why am I the one being picked on?!"

"Well, it is my last day. At the very least, you could provide some entertainment before I leave." Eve stated playfully, taking another sip of her tea.

The redhead pouted, unable to think of a comeback. His time was up – signaled by the silver bell. Activating her charms, Eve recollected the now sparkling-clean plates with the assistance of her companions. As the group disbanded, many members walked over to the little heiress, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder (or head, if they were a half-bred incubus named Raven), a handshake, or even a quick embrace if they were bold enough (and tolerant enough to withstand one of her devastating slaps).

Bidding farewell to her dear companions, Eve started towards her science class, accompanied by a certain redhead and an ever-cautious blond heir.

"So you're really leaving?" The redhead asked glumly, earning a simple nod in reply. "I see…"

* * *

"Hey Eve! Wait up!"

The silver haired girl stopped at the call of her name, turning to face an ever familiar boy with flaming red, spiky hair.

"Hello again." She greeted.

"Hey." The boy called out in response, slowing down as he neared the shorter girl.

From his pockets, he pulled out a silver spear-like charm, a corundum-like gem resting as a centerpiece in the hilt. He offered the small charm to the little heiress, who took ahold of it gingerly.

"It's for you. I would've made the design different, but I didn't have enough energy, sorry."

The girl shook her head.

"No, it's fine. This is lovely, thank you."

She flashed a smile at the boy, whom returned with his own toothy grin.

"Glad you like it. I, uh…" He dropped his smile, continuing in a more hushed voice. "I guess this is goodbye then…"

The girl nodded, her fingers tracing over the simple design of the silver charm. After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I'd better leave now; Oberon has been waiting for a while."

"Oh, yeah. Well… Goodbye then…"

"Farewell, Elsword. I enjoyed the time we spent together."

With a polite nod of her head, Eve turned around and started to walk out of the main entrance door.

"Wait!"

She stopped, turning to face the redhead once more.

"Yes? What is it?"

The boy averted his gaze, a hand scratching the back of his head, a faint red blush creeping onto his cheeks. He mumbled to himself, his words inaudible to the little heiress. Clearing his throat, he leaned in closer to the little heiress, brushing away her bangs and planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

"A good luck charm." He explained, quickly darting his eyes away. "So that we can meet again."

The little heiress touched her forehead, feeling a lingering warmth that spread to her fingertips. She got up on her toes, allowing her to meet the boy on eye level, and gently took ahold of the boy's chin, planting a small peck of her own on his left cheek.

"A good luck charm, for you too." She explained, pulling away.

Stunned, Elsword could only stare with wide crimson eyes. For a well-known playboy, he seemed to be unable to respond. Perhaps it was unusual for his target to take the initiative? She laughed. His face was growing a shade darker with every passing second.

"Farewell then. I hope we are able to meet each other again."

"Y-Yeah… I'll see you later, Eve."

The corners of his lips naturally turned upwards in a small smile as the boy watched his silver haired companion stride away. He raised a hand to his left cheek, the cheek most slapped by the little heiress, and the one that was also kissed. He laughed, amused by the peculiar sense of irony. Lowering his arm, he let out a soft sigh.

"Well, I guess I'd better start heading home too…"

* * *

Eve climbed into the limousine, seating herself comfortably on the black leather sofa. In the driver's seat, her personal butler started the car, mute and still wearing a helm to cover his face. Feeling movement around her, Eve glanced out the window, gazing with bored eyes at the plain scenery passing by. After a few minutes of silent driving, she called for her butler's attention.

"Oberon, is my father available at this moment?"

The man nodded, though he did not take his eyes away from the road.

"I see. Please put him on the line, I wish to speak with him."

He nodded once more, pushing multiple buttons on the dashboard. A simple dial-tone began playing in the car, stopping shortly afterwards and replaced with a mature and deep voice.

"Yes?"

"Hello father." Eve greeted, enunciating clearly so that the various microphones placed throughout could accurately pick up her words.

"Ah, hello Eve. How was your stay at Velder Academy?" The man inquired, though his tone suggested that he was not interested in his daughter's school life in the slightest.

"It was well. The education level was lower than I had expected, but there was a large variety of extra curriculums. The school supplies were all very well kept and excessive in number, though students were often asked to work in pairs or groups. Overall, I can say that Velder Academy is an educational institution which deserves its positive fame."

"I see, I see… Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Yes, in fact, I have a request to make…"

* * *

"Heya Raven, how was your weekend?"

Said male groggily raised his head from the table, multiple dark bags under his dull golden eyes. He shot a glare that said _'Shut up and don't come near me.' _at the smaller boy.

"We had a heavy assignment for calculus to do over the weekend." Chung explained, sitting down and taking out yet another fiancé-made lunch.

Elsword clicked his tongue, shaking his head sympathetically at his monochrome-haired senior, whom lowered his head back onto the table, enclosed by his arms.

"Wow, I'm so glad I'm only taking basic math." A brown-haired boy remarked from across the table.

"Calculus isn't too difficult, once you understand the basic concept of it."

"Says the rich boy genius who skipped five grades."

"Actually, I skipped six."

Elsword let out a low whine.

"Lady of El, why couldn't your smartness rub off on me?"

"That would be your fault, for always rejecting the study sessions I've offered." Chung retorted with a scoff.

"Because you always explain things in such a complicated way! Eve too, I could barely understand what either of you two were saying last Wednesday." His voice fell as he recalled the image of his silver-haired friend.

"…She's really gone huh? I kinda liked her too, she was pretty cool." Sheath remarked, earning multiple nods of agreement from his male companions.

"Her slaps really hurt though." Henrier added, earning an irritated scoff from the spiky redhead.

"Like you have any right to complain. I probably got slapped the most out of everyone here."

"And it'll be likely that you will eternally hold the record for most received slaps."

The entire table turned to face the new voice behind their redheaded leader. Elsword too, craned his neck around, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of the graceful silver haired girl, clad in the plain uniform of Velder's Academy.

"E-Eve…?!"

The girl gave an amused scoff.

"Of course, who else would I be?"

"I dunno, a spy who looks like Eve?"

"…Stand up."

The boy listened obediently, getting out of his chair and standing before the little heiress. In the blink of an eye, Eve had whipped her palm across his face, causing the redhead to stumble into the sleeping Raven.

"Augh! What the hell?!" The older male screamed, throwing the smaller boy off of him and onto the floor before returning to his nap.

A few of the nearby males began to laugh at the sight, accompanied by a light giggle from their renowned female slap-artist. With a groan, Elsword picked himself up, dusting his pants as he glared half-heartedly at the silver haired girl.

"What was that for?"

"For failing my expectations of being able to recognize your own mark." Eve replied flatly, brushing aside her hair to reveal a silver spear-like charm that hung on a silver chair, accompanied by a white rabbit-like charm that had, once again, been remodeled. Its front left arm had sharpened into a black pointed limb with a large white shield near its body, while its right arm had shaped into a large white sword, decorated with thick black lines and three orange gems near the hilt. Its underside and helm were mostly black now, with various linings of gold. Rather than the rabbit or killer-like designs from before, this one resembled more of a knight.

"Oh, I didn't notice that." Elsword muttered, examining the white charm. "Hey, where's the black one?"

"Right here." The girl replied, pulling out the small black charm from her skirt pocket. Like the white charm, this one had also gone under a change of development. Its front left arm had been shaped into a blade exactly like the white charm's, though the black and white sections were reversed. Its right arm had shaped into a shield, much like the white charm's, but had a different design. Unlike the white one, the black one's shield was a simple gray circle, with three large black wings on a separate layer above it. Its blade was also significantly shorter than the white charm's. This one too, resembled that of a gallant knight.

"Wow, that's so cool." Elsword praised.

"I'm glad you think so. Please keep it safe somewhere and do not lose it."

"Wait, what?" He furrowed his brows, confused by the girl's words. "Is this what I think it is?"

Eve simply scoffed in response.

"It's really not that difficult to comprehend. Well? Take it, it's yours now." She offered the small charm to the redhead, who cautiously took ahold of it.

"…You mean it? Really?"

"Of course. I have no reason to lie to you, after all."

The boy beamed.

"Oh dear Lady of El, this is awesome! Thank you!" He cheered, examining the small charm like a child opening a birthday gift.

"I would prefer you wear it somewhere visible." Eve continued. "As it would hopefully communicate to others that you have already been claimed."

Elsword stopped, turning to face the silver haired girl.

"Wait, what."

"You are able to provide a wide variety of research material for my database. Therefore, I will be claiming you to prevent copyright infringement." Eve replied flatly, causing a few of her more intelligent companions to start snickering.

The redhead simply stared, mouth slightly agape as his brain tried to register the girl's words.

"She's saying she likes you." Chung remarked, a haughty smirk pasted on his lips. He turned his attention to the little heiress. "Though you should really seal the contract – with a kiss on the lips, of course~."

"A kiss?" The girl repeated. "Ah, I see."

She gently grabbed the redhead's chin and pulled him closer, locking their lips in a simple kiss. She pulled away after twenty seconds, causing the table to erupt in cheers and applause.

"W-W-Wait! I'm not ready for this kind of relationship!" Elsword exclaimed, his face flushed a deep red. "And plus, how are we going to meet? I thought you said you're going back to Altera!"

"I am." The girl replied with a deadpan tone. "However, I have made a residence in Velder, on Prosperity Road. And also…" She activated her charm, pulling out a single document. "Nasod Intelligence Incorporations has taken claim of this institution. Everything will remain as it currently is however, but with additional funding. As such, I ask that you terminate any active contracts with any other females, Elsword, as I will provide you with the necessary amount of energy you require to survive."

"I… I'm not sure how to feel about this…" The redhead grumbled, feeling a mixture of emotions rise in his chest.

"You should be pleased. Now you can eat all sorts of foods whenever you want." Chung teased, chuckling lightly to himself.

"Oh, yes. I have a message for you, Chung."

The blond heir tilted his head curiously, watching as the little heiress activated her charm once more, putting the document away and taking out her black flip phone.

"The message reads, 'Hi Chungy~ (I hope you don't mind me calling you that from now on. It's a really cute nickname! *Heart*), Eve told me all about Velder Academy. It sounds like a lot of fun, so I'll be transferring in on Wednesday. Can't wait to see you again~! Love, your dear fiancé.' End. Due to various circumstances, we have become companions of sorts. As such, the transfer of the school's ownership to Nasodia has allowed them to transfer here without worrying about a decrease in education level."

She showed her phone screen to the blond boy, as if to further prove that the message was real. Eyes darting rapidly across the screen, Chung read the message numerous times, as if trying to figure out if there were some sort of secret indication of a joke or whatnot. He cussed under his breath, feeling his face heat up.

"What's the matter Chungy-boy? Embarrassed about having your wifey here with you?" Elsword teased, his signature grin pasted wide on his face.

"Well at least we'll finally get to see what they're like." A black-haired boy remarked, earning many nods and comments of agreement.

"Oh, I assure you, their presence will greatly contribute to the excitement of this school year. But rest assured, they're not a demon or anything of that sort." Eve smiled, stealing a quick glance at her incubus lover.

"Our time here is limited; therefore, we should make things as interesting as possible. And as the new owner of Velder Academy, I, Eve Nasodia, promise that I will certainly stir up some chaos throughout the school year. I do hope, you especially Elsword, that you are all well prepared."

* * *

**~ Author's Notes ~**

Requested by: RevolutionizedWorld, TsukixnoEvernight, and RubyCrucifix

And done~! Oh gods, I can't believe this took so long. I'm sorry. orz

I wanted to write a high school fanfic for once, even though I know the idea is really overused. And yes, I know the "IP is a girl" idea is really, really overused. I am so terribly sorry. Also, Chung's fiancé will remain a secret, so I'll leave that to your imagination as to who they are~. And also, forgive me for giving the minor characters really weird names. I tried. orz

But all that aside, I hope you enjoyed this little story~. The next one will be IPxCN with an "artificial-emotions-in-a-robot" theme (*CoughButwithCNandnotCBScough*).

Once again, thanks for reading! Feedback of any sorts is always greatly appreciated. Requests are still closed, and updates might be a little slow these few days, but I hope to see you back here again soon~.

**For Misa, or anyone else who's interested, there's a .pdf version available for download (of this chapter only). It's being hosted at TinyUrl, with the address after .com being "/ISxCNGFSI"


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